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Melanie as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Melanie

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The baby name Melanie is a Female name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈmɛl.ə.ni/ (MEL-uh-nee).

Melanie is Greek in Origin.

Gender: Female
Syllables: 3.0
Origin: Greek
Pronunciation: /ˈmɛl.ə.ni/ (MEL-uh-nee)

What is the meaning of the name Melanie ?

The baby name Melanie is a Female name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈmɛl.ə.ni/ (MEL-uh-nee).

Melanie is Greek in Origin.

Melanie is the English form of French Mélanie, from Latin Melania, ultimately Greek Melania (Μελανία), feminine of melas/melaina “black, dark.”

Early Christian bearers include Saint Melania the Elder and her granddaughter Saint Melania the Younger, Roman aristocrats venerated for ascetic charity, which kept the name in ecclesiastical calendars. Revived in France and adopted into English; its modern rise in the U.S. and UK accelerated after the 1936 novel and 1939 film Gone with the Wind introduced Melanie Hamilton, leading to peaks in the 1970s–80s. Common forms and cognates: Mélanie (French), Melania (Italian, Spanish, Polish), Melánia (Hungarian), Melani/Melany/Melannie (modern spellings), with nicknames Mel, Mellie/Melly, and Lanie/Lainey. The meaning evokes “dark, dusky,” sometimes interpreted figuratively as depth or serenity. Today the name is widely used across Europe, especially in Germany, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia, balancing gentle sound with timeless familiarity.

Melanie has the following similar or variant Names

Famous people with the name Melanie

Melanie Musician · Born 1947 · United States Melanie Safka, known simply as Melanie, is a musician from the United States who gained fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She is best known for her hit songs 'Brand New Key' and 'Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)'. Her music is characterized by its folk and pop influences, and she became a prominent voice during the Woodstock era.

Celebrity babies named Melanie

Name Last Name(s) Mother Mother famous for Fame Level Father Father famous for Fame Level
Melanie Shatner Gloria Rand television actor William Shatner television actor ★★★★★
Melanie Gabriel Peter Gabriel television actor ★★★★★
Melanie Griffith Tippi Hedren model ★★★★★

Melanie – Popularity by country

Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.

Country Gender Year Rank Born of
Ireland Girls 2025 #1 — 874
Germany Girls 2025 #1 — 411
FJ 0 #5 2 374
Germany Girls 0 #9 18,153 4,949
FJ Girls 0 #9 1 583
BF Girls 0 #17 1 315
Austria Girls 0 #25 3,546 1,885
NA 0 #25 9 2,537
Austria 0 #26 411 850
Germany 0 #27 1,381 2,542
KR Boys 0 #27 1 897
DJ Girls 0 #29 1 488
BN 0 #30 3 2,297
BI Girls 0 #32 2 726
MT 0 #35 9 1,767
ID 0 #38 2 2,238
LU 0 #46 21 2,830
Austria Girls 2010 #48 154 60
CM 0 #49 8 2,592
MO 0 #50 3 2,706
PR 0 #51 5 1,497
PH 0 #54 43 5,607
CY 0 #56 5 1,632
PH Girls 0 #62 529 13,098
MT Girls 0 #69 87 3,773
IN 0 #71 1 2,963
AF 0 #76 1 1,883
JP 0 #76 2 4,057
LU Girls 0 #76 129 4,850
SI 0 #78 3 1,612
PR Girls 0 #79 92 3,171
BG 0 #82 1 1,799
CN 0 #82 5 3,857
QA 0 #85 16 7,011
BN Girls 0 #90 17 5,459
CY Girls 0 #90 32 3,755
JM 0 #90 4 3,714
ID Girls 0 #95 8 3,319
NL Girls 0 #100 3,915 5,933
TW 0 #101 3 4,523
KW 0 #104 13 5,216
EC 0 #105 11 2,502
OM 0 #105 12 6,215
PA 0 #107 24 3,797
ZA 0 #107 436 14,421
GE Girls 0 #108 1 1,564
HU 0 #113 3 1,675
Sweden Girls 2022 #115 67 1,568
MU 0 #116 21 3,613
United States Girls 2024 #120 2,244 8,487
Norway Girls 2025 #122 5 453
Switzerland Girls 2024 #124 12 1,786
CR 0 #126 33 5,526
GR 0 #129 7 3,911
CM Girls 0 #133 881 11,671
RS Girls 0 #135 3 1,651
BW Girls 0 #137 12 4,216
EC Girls 0 #137 107 3,650
NA Girls 0 #137 89 7,146
QA Girls 0 #138 190 15,378
AE 0 #140 38 10,220
JO 0 #140 1 2,158
MU Girls 0 #140 245 8,539
PA Girls 0 #140 558 9,861
EE Girls 0 #141 2 1,888
KW Girls 0 #143 470 19,177
NL 0 #146 302 2,481
UY 0 #148 30 2,477
ZA Girls 0 #156 3,614 25,928
SI Girls 0 #164 11 2,769
HU Boys 0 #174 1 3,954
AR 0 #176 11 2,915
DK Girls 0 #176 164 7,429
HR 0 #177 5 2,081
PR Boys 0 #178 1 2,508
MT Boys 0 #179 1 4,064
UY Girls 0 #179 617 6,731
CZ 0 #181 6 3,154
DK 0 #187 17 5,198
RU 0 #189 6 3,641
AO Girls 0 #193 17 4,575
MO Girls 0 #195 57 7,056
PS 0 #208 11 5,692
SI Boys 0 #210 2 3,402
CR Girls 0 #211 459 11,342
PL 0 #211 2 2,600
HU Girls 0 #213 11 3,308
PT 0 #215 32 4,161
GR Girls 0 #219 24 6,293
AE Girls 0 #222 376 20,968
BG Girls 0 #223 9 3,559
SG 0 #223 47 11,010
IR 0 #225 7 4,221
AL Girls 0 #227 1 4,141
JP Girls 0 #230 16 6,592
MO Boys 0 #234 1 5,842
Canada Girls 2024 #236 50 2,795
TW Girls 0 #236 41 8,139
JM Girls 0 #237 23 7,507
OM Girls 0 #239 159 15,987
HR Girls 0 #243 47 3,687
EC Boys 0 #245 2 3,322
NA Boys 0 #252 2 6,830
IL 0 #258 17 6,291
PT Girls 0 #258 228 7,952
PE 0 #268 43 6,350
SA 0 #269 27 10,560
SG Girls 0 #269 372 18,916
GT 0 #280 35 5,948
MY 0 #281 50 12,352
CZ Girls 0 #287 56 5,378
JM Boys 0 #293 1 6,876
KZ Boys 0 #295 2 6,578
AR Girls 0 #302 422 8,289
Canada Boys 1991 #303 5 1,696
HK 0 #304 45 8,483
JO Girls 0 #306 20 7,570
CN Girls 0 #311 39 8,829
GT Girls 0 #314 210 7,500
KZ Girls 0 #324 9 5,862
CL 0 #325 88 6,867
CL Girls 0 #329 892 14,098
DK Boys 0 #330 3 7,401
PL Girls 0 #334 21 5,096
GH Girls 0 #335 3 6,973
Spain 0 #353 100 2,326
BR 0 #355 6 5,969
SD Girls 0 #356 3 7,678
Finland Girls 0 #358 34 1,368
SA Girls 0 #358 726 25,931
PE Girls 0 #359 1,074 14,861
MX 0 #360 54 8,339
HK Girls 0 #363 282 16,104
MU Boys 0 #366 4 8,477
BO 0 #369 13 6,868
PH Boys 0 #374 10 11,440
PT Boys 0 #379 3 7,951
MX Girls 0 #387 1,933 17,781
JO Boys 0 #389 1 7,057
Spain Girls 0 #391 957 5,561
France Girls 2021 #394 12 3,185
BD Girls 0 #405 2 8,413
EG 0 #407 6 6,387
UY Boys 0 #408 6 5,922
RU Girls 0 #436 63 11,913
PS Girls 0 #441 83 10,981
BH 0 #442 112 17,937
CO 0 #448 33 7,768
CO Girls 0 #456 1,053 16,140
IR Girls 0 #461 70 8,334
SD Boys 0 #465 2 10,523
BO Girls 0 #474 140 9,488
AR Boys 0 #475 9 7,628
IL Girls 0 #495 124 11,648
GT Boys 0 #497 3 7,625
PA Boys 0 #499 7 9,305
CR Boys 0 #506 5 10,188
CM Boys 0 #514 37 12,054
RU Boys 0 #521 6 12,621
IQ Girls 0 #522 4 11,303
LB 0 #538 121 13,263
IT Girls 0 #553 1,554 9,415
HK Boys 0 #554 4 12,905
LY 0 #557 3 12,703
IR Boys 0 #564 2 10,162
IT 0 #565 151 4,183
Finland Girls 2026 #591 155 3,895
MY Girls 0 #636 381 24,821
IN Girls 0 #651 4 13,121
CL Boys 0 #692 9 13,390
IQ Boys 0 #697 1 13,071
QA Boys 0 #737 7 18,093
SG Boys 0 #738 2 17,960
NG Girls 0 #748 39 15,093
KW Boys 0 #755 15 18,755
SY 0 #759 9 11,684
BR Boys 0 #784 2 12,213
TN 0 #805 25 13,765
OM Boys 0 #868 14 17,948
BR Girls 0 #879 63 12,708
United States Boys 2017 #881 5 7,410
EG Girls 0 #900 60 14,742
CO Boys 0 #908 13 15,656
Germany Boys 0 #913 40 5,697
PE Boys 0 #918 9 14,506
EG Boys 0 #924 2 15,035
MX Boys 0 #958 25 16,355
NG Boys 0 #1,001 1 16,906
IN Boys 0 #1,039 1 16,750
MA 0 #1,075 54 20,986
AE Boys 0 #1,138 6 22,615
DZ 0 #1,140 37 20,130
ZA Boys 0 #1,147 32 25,619
TR 0 #1,153 59 19,440
MY Boys 0 #1,180 3 25,439
SA Boys 0 #1,592 23 28,008

Melanie is popular in 90 countries — most recent births per country:

Ireland
Scotland, United Kingdom
Norway
Canada
Austria

Did we miss something about this name? Let us know!

People also ask about Melanie

Melanie is predominantly a girl's name.
Melanie is a 3 syllable name, pronounced /ˈmɛl.ə.ni/ (MEL-uh-nee).
Common nicknames and spelling variations include Mélanie, Melania, Melany, Mellanie, Mellany and Melanee.
Across languages, Melanie has these equivalents: 'Russian': 'Мелания (Melaniya), 'Greek (original), ': 'Μελανή (Melanē).
Yes, very popular — Melanie ranked #1 in Ireland in 2025, and appears in official birth registries across 12 countries.
Melanie ranks highest in Ireland (#1 in 2025).
Melanie's popularity is holding steady. It moved from #1 in 2015 to #1 in 2025 in Ireland.
Yes — 1 notable people named Melanie are in our database, including Melanie (Musician).
Yes — at least 3 celebrity couples have chosen Melanie for their child, including Gloria Rand and William Shatner.