Melrose
Derived from Gaelic, meaning a beautiful or prosperous meadow.
Name Census estimates that about 582 living Americans carry the first name Melrose. It is a predominantly female name (95.7% of registrations). The average person named Melrose today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Melrose births was 2024 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Melrose. 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 Melrose with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Melrose is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 51 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
582
~ 1 in 588,925 Americans
Peak year
2024
49 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
1947 SSA rank
#3,248
Tracked since 1902
Census
Melrose in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 757 people with the first name Melrose, which placed it at #15,253 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
#15,253
National first-name rank
People counted
757
757 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
45.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Melrose
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Melrose is Black at 45.3%. The next largest groups are White (29.1%) and Hispanic (10.4%). 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 Melrose 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 Melrose at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American45.3% · 343
- White29.1% · 220
- Hispanic or Latino10.4% · 79
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.9% · 75
- Two or more races4.4% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Melrose
Melrose leans heavily female at 95.7% of total registrations, but 51 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Melrose as a male name
- Ranked #4,079 in 1947
- 5 male births in 1947
- Peak: 1921 (9 births)
Melrose as a female name
- Ranked #3,248 in 2024
- 49 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (49 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Melrose leans strongly female. 713 people counted with this name were female (95.3%), compared with 35 male bearers (4.7%).
Popularity
Melrose: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Melrose from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 271 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Melrose remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Melrose 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 Melrose during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Melroses live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Georgia, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Melrose, while Virginia, New York, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 26 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Melrose
The name Melrose is of Scottish origin, derived from the Old English words "melr" meaning "a place of sandstone or sandy soil" and "rose" meaning a rose bush or flower. It is believed to have originated as a place name in the Scottish Borders region, referring to the town of Melrose.
The first recorded use of the name Melrose can be traced back to the 12th century, when it was used to refer to the town and its famous Cistercian abbey, Melrose Abbey. The abbey was founded in 1136 and became an important center of religious and cultural activity in Scotland during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Melrose was Melrose of Caithness, a Scottish nobleman who lived in the 13th century. He was a prominent figure in the Scottish Wars of Independence against England and fought alongside William Wallace and Robert the Bruce.
Another notable figure with the name Melrose was Sir Melrose of Strathearn, a 14th-century Scottish knight who played a significant role in the Battle of Neville's Cross in 1346. He was captured by the English during the battle and later ransomed.
In the 16th century, Melrose became a popular surname in Scotland, particularly in the Borders region. One notable individual with the surname was Andrew Melville (1545-1622), a Scottish scholar, theologian, and leader of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland.
The name Melrose also appears in literature, most notably in Sir Walter Scott's novel "The Monastery" (1820), which is set in the vicinity of Melrose Abbey. The novel's protagonist, a young woman named Melrose, is portrayed as a symbol of innocence and purity.
Other famous individuals with the name Melrose throughout history include:
1. Melrose Bickerstaff (1914-2008), an American author and journalist.
2. Melrose Plant (1920-2012), a British artist and sculptor.
3. Melrose Cranner (1933-2012), an Australian politician and member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.
4. Melrose Buchanan (1942-2017), a Scottish singer and songwriter.
5. Melrose Cooper (1958-), an American actress and model.
People
Melrose + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Melrose 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
Melrose: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Melrose?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 582 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Melrose 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 588,925 US residents.
Is Melrose a common name?
We classify Melrose as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,191 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Melrose most popular?
The single biggest year for Melrose was 2024, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Melrose is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Melrose in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 757 people with the name Melrose, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,253 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 Melrose 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 Melrose?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Melrose leans strongly female. 713 people counted with this name were female (95.3%), compared with 35 male bearers (4.7%). 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 Melrose?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Melrose is Black at 45.3%. The next largest groups are White (29.1%) and Hispanic (10.4%). 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 Melrose most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Melrose in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.3% (343 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 Melrose in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Melrose a female name?
Yes, 95.7% of people registered as Melrose 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 Melrose still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Melrose 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 Melrose 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 are called Melrose?
Find out how many Americans are named Melrose on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.