2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Melow
A locational surname suggesting someone from a place deriving its name from a crop-harvesting site.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Melow. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Melow surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Melow in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Melow, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.6%) and Black (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Melow
The surname MELOW is believed to have originated in Germany, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the 16th century. The name is derived from the Old German word "mel," which means "mill" or "miller." It is likely that the name was initially given to someone who worked at or lived near a mill.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name MELOW can be found in the town records of Erfurt, a city in the central German state of Thuringia. In 1578, a man named Johann MELOW was listed as a resident of the town. It is possible that this spelling was an early variation of the name.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name MELOW began to spread across Germany and into neighboring regions. In 1694, a man named Hans MELOW was born in the town of Eisenach, which is also located in Thuringia. He later became a prominent merchant and landowner in the area.
As the name MELOW continued to spread, it eventually made its way to other parts of Europe and even to the Americas. In 1792, a man named Friedrich MELOW emigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania, becoming one of the first recorded instances of the name in the United States.
One notable figure with the surname MELOW was Johann Friedrich MELOW, a German composer and organist who lived from 1766 to 1832. He was born in the town of Nordhausen and is known for his contributions to church music during the late Baroque and early Classical periods.
Another prominent individual with the name MELOW was Heinrich MELOW, a German military officer who served in the Prussian Army during the 19th century. He was born in 1810 and played a significant role in the Prussian victory over Austria in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866.
In the 20th century, the name MELOW gained recognition through the work of German writer and poet Gerhard MELOW, who was born in 1908 and died in 1993. He is best known for his novels and short stories that explored themes of identity and the human condition.
While the surname MELOW has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia. However, its origins can be traced back to the Old German word "mel" and its association with mills and millers in the 16th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Melow
Among Census respondents with the surname Melow, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.6%) and Black (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Melow bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Melow surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.3% · 88
- Hispanic or Latino12.6% · 14
- Black or African American3.6% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 3
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Melow
Melow appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-4 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,343 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-7 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,525 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.3%) | Down 12,343 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 7,525 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Melow surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #141,140 | #148,665 | -5.3% |
| Count | 118 | 111 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Melow bearers went from 118 to 111 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 7,525 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #148,665.
FAQ
Melow surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Melow?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Melow. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Melow?
Melow ranks #148,665 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 111 people with the surname Melow. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Melow.
Has Melow become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Melow went from 118 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 7 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Melow?
Among Census respondents with the surname Melow, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.6%) and Black (3.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Melow in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.3% (88 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Melow appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.3%), Hispanic (12.6%), Black (3.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Melow (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Melow mean?
A locational surname suggesting someone from a place deriving its name from a crop-harvesting site. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Melow (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Melow?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.