Mel
A diminutive of Melanie, derived from the Greek melan meaning "dark".
Name Census estimates that about 2,867 living Americans carry the first name Mel. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 88.2% of registrations being male. The average person named Mel today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mel births was 1958 (131 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mel. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Mel with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.9K
~ 1 in 119,552 Americans
Peak year
1958
131 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,819
Tracked since 1902
Census
Mel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 7,887 people with the first name Mel, which placed it at #2,894 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#2,894
National first-name rank
People counted
7.9K
7,887 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mel is White at 59.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.0%) and Black (12.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Mel 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Mel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.4% · 4,686
- Hispanic or Latino15.0% · 1,182
- Black or African American12.1% · 958
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.6% · 756
- Two or more races3.0% · 233
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 72
Gender
Gender distribution for Mel
Mel leans heavily male at 88.2% of total registrations, but 492 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Mel as a male name
- Ranked #8,713 in 2024
- 9 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1958 (119 births)
Mel as a female name
- Ranked #6,819 in 2024
- 17 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2004 (30 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mel on both sides of the split. Of the 7,890 people counted with this name, 5,375 were male (68.1%) and 2,515 were female (31.9%).
Popularity
Mel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mel from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 935 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mel by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Mel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. California, New York, Illinois recorded the most babies named Mel, while New Mexico, North Carolina, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 67 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mel
The name Mel is a diminutive form of the Hebrew name Melech, meaning "king" or "ruler". It has been used as a given name since ancient times, with its origins dating back to the biblical era.
In the Old Testament, Melech is mentioned as one of the sons of Micah from the tribe of Manasseh. Additionally, the Hebrew word "melekh" appears numerous times throughout the scriptures, referring to various kings and rulers.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Mel can be found in ancient Greek texts, where it was used as a shortened version of the name Melchior, one of the three wise men who brought gifts to the infant Jesus Christ.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Mel. One of the most famous was Mel the Younger (335-395 AD), a Roman philosopher and rhetorician who played a significant role in the revival of Neoplatonism during the late Roman Empire.
Another prominent figure was Mel of Armagh (1095-1148), also known as Maelmaedhoc Ua Morgair, an Irish saint and Archbishop of Armagh who was renowned for his piety and scholarship.
In the 16th century, Mel Siuard (1515-1597) was a Scottish soldier and diplomat who served as the ambassador of King James VI of Scotland to several European courts.
During the Renaissance, Mel Bonis (1561-1614) was an Italian composer and organist who made significant contributions to the development of early Baroque music.
More recently, Mel Brooks (born 1926) is a renowned American filmmaker, actor, and comedian best known for his satirical and irreverent comedies, such as "The Producers" and "Blazing Saddles".
While the name Mel has been used across various cultures and time periods, its origins can be traced back to the Hebrew language and the biblical era, where it was closely associated with the concept of kingship and rulership.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Mel
People
Mel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Mel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,867 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mel going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 119,552 US residents.
Is Mel a common name?
We classify Mel as "Rare". It ranks above 95% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,175 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mel most popular?
The single biggest year for Mel was 1958, when 131 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mel is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 7,887 people with the name Mel, or 2.61 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,894 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Mel in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Mel?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mel on both sides of the split. Of the 7,890 people counted with this name, 5,375 were male (68.1%) and 2,515 were female (31.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Mel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mel is White at 59.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.0%) and Black (12.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Mel most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.4% (4,686 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Mel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mel a male name?
Yes, 88.2% of people registered as Mel in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Mel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mel in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Mel can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Mel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.