Mele as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Mele

What is the meaning of the name Mele ?

The baby name Mele is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced MEH-leh (IPA: /ˈmɛ.le/).

Mele is Hawaiian in Origin.

Mele is a Polynesian feminine name with two principal roots. In Tongan, Mele is the localized form of Mary, from Hebrew Miryam, whose proposed meanings include “beloved,” “bitter,” or “drop of the sea.” In Hawaiian, mele is the everyday word for “song, chant, poem,” also used as a given name, lending the meaning “song.” Pronounced MEH-leh.

It rose to prominence in Tonga during 19th-century Christianization and remains common across Tongan communities in Oceania and abroad. In Hawai‘i, its word-name use aligns with cultural practices of music and hula. Related forms include Mere (Māori, Fijian, Tahitian), Meri (Samoan, Māori), and Malia (Hawaiian); longer compounds such as Mele‘ana (“Mary Ann”) occur in Tonga. Note that Italian Mele is a separate surname from mela, “apple.” Depending on context, Mele carries either the biblical lineage of Mary or the lyrical imagery of “song.”