Mele
A feminine Hawaiian name meaning "song, chant, or poem".
Name Census estimates that about 882 living Americans carry the first name Mele. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mele today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mele births was 1991 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mele. 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.
People living today
882
~ 1 in 388,610 Americans
Peak year
1991
33 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,324
Tracked since 1955
Census
Mele in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,360 people with the first name Mele, which placed it at #9,975 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
#9,975
National first-name rank
People counted
1.4K
1,360 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
72.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mele
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mele is Asian/Pacific Islander at 72.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.3%) and White (7.9%). 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 Mele 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 Mele at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander72.2% · 982
- Two or more races11.3% · 153
- White7.9% · 107
- Hispanic or Latino6.5% · 88
- Black or African American2.0% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Popularity
Mele: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mele from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 217 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Mele remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mele 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 Mele during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Meles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Utah, Hawaii recorded the most babies named Mele, while Hawaii, Utah, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 152 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mele
The given name Mele has its origins in the Polynesian languages spoken across the islands of the Pacific Ocean. It is derived from the Proto-Polynesian word "mele", which means "song" or "chant". The name has been used for centuries by various Polynesian cultures, including the Hawaiians, Samoans, and Tongans.
In Hawaiian culture, the name Mele is associated with the art of hula dancing and the accompanying chants and songs. It is a name commonly given to girls born into families of hula practitioners or those with a strong connection to Hawaiian traditions. The earliest recorded instances of the name Mele in Hawaii date back to the 18th century.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Mele is Mele Kalikimaka, a Hawaiian composer and musician who lived in the late 19th century. She is renowned for her contributions to the preservation of traditional Hawaiian music and for composing songs that are still widely performed today.
Another prominent individual with the name Mele is Mele Keaupuni Kailianu, a Hawaiian high chiefess who lived in the early 19th century. She was known for her leadership and advocacy for the rights of Native Hawaiians during the period of Western colonization.
In Samoan culture, the name Mele is also associated with music and dance. It is a popular name for girls, often given to those with a talent for singing or dancing. One notable figure is Mele Siulikutafu, a Samoan singer and musician who gained recognition in the early 20th century for her performances of traditional Samoan songs and dances.
In Tonga, the name Mele has a similar connection to music and performance. A notable historical figure with this name is Mele Siulikutafu, a Tongan princess and poet who lived in the late 18th century. She is celebrated for her contributions to Tongan literature and her advocacy for the preservation of traditional arts and culture.
Another individual with the name Mele is Mele Kaihau, a Hawaiian activist and leader who played a significant role in the Hawaiian sovereignty movement in the late 20th century. She was a vocal advocate for the rights of Native Hawaiians and the protection of their cultural heritage.
People
Mele + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mele 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
Mele: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mele?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 882 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mele 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 388,610 US residents.
Is Mele a common name?
We classify Mele as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 914 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mele most popular?
The single biggest year for Mele was 1991, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mele is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mele in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,360 people with the name Mele, or 0.45 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,975 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 Mele 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 Mele?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mele leans strongly female. 1,316 people counted with this name were female (96.3%), compared with 50 male bearers (3.7%). 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 Mele?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mele is Asian/Pacific Islander at 72.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.3%) and White (7.9%). 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 Mele most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Mele in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.2% (982 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 Mele in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mele a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mele in the SSA data are female. 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 Mele still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mele 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 Mele 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 many people share the name Mele?
Want to know how many people have the name Mele? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.