Melynda
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "dark beauty".
Name Census estimates that about 2,419 living Americans carry the first name Melynda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Melynda today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Melynda births was 1973 (100 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Melynda. 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
2.4K
~ 1 in 141,693 Americans
Peak year
1973
100 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2021 SSA rank
#16,856
Tracked since 1943
Census
Melynda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,447 people with the first name Melynda, which placed it at #6,533 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
#6,533
National first-name rank
People counted
2.4K
2,447 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Melynda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Melynda is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.1%) and Black (4.2%). 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 Melynda 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 Melynda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.4% · 1,967
- Hispanic or Latino8.1% · 198
- Black or African American4.2% · 103
- Two or more races4.0% · 98
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 62
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 19
Popularity
Melynda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Melynda from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 879 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Melynda 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 Melynda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Melyndas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Melynda, while New Mexico, New Jersey, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 36 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Melynda
The name Melynda is a feminine given name with origins that can be traced back to the Greek language. It is believed to be a variant or alternative spelling of the name Melinda, which itself is derived from the Greek name Melindo or Melinta.
The name Melindo or Melinta is thought to have its roots in the Greek word "meli," meaning "honey," and is often interpreted as meaning "honey-sweet" or "sweet as honey." This connection to honey may have been a reference to a person's gentle or sweet nature.
While the name Melynda does not appear to have any specific historical references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its variant form, Melinda, is mentioned in some early Christian literature and was used by a few minor saints in the early medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Melynda can be found in the 13th century, when a woman named Melynda de Welles was documented as living in England during the reign of King Henry III (1216-1272). Another early example is Melynda de Beaumont, a French noblewoman who lived in the late 14th century.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Melynda. One of the most prominent was Melynda Montgomerie (1552-1601), a Scottish aristocrat and the daughter of Hugh Montgomerie, 3rd Earl of Eglinton. She played a significant role in the political and religious conflicts of her time.
Another historical figure with the name Melynda was Melynda Bayard (1691-1767), a Dutch painter known for her still-life paintings and portraits. She was a member of the Dutch Golden Age of painting and is considered one of the most accomplished female artists of her era.
In the 19th century, Melynda Reade (1820-1891) was an English novelist and playwright who wrote several popular works, including "The Lady's Mile" and "The Outlaw's Bride." Her works often explored themes of social injustice and the plight of women in Victorian society.
Moving into the 20th century, Melynda Bates (1904-1990) was an American actress and singer who appeared on Broadway and in several Hollywood films during the 1930s and 1940s. She is best remembered for her roles in musicals such as "Anything Goes" and "Babes in Arms."
Finally, Melynda Jarratt (born 1965) is a contemporary Australian author and journalist who has written several novels and non-fiction works, including "Fell" and "Coma Visions." Her writing often explores themes of identity, relationships, and the human condition.
People
Melynda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Melynda 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
Melynda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Melynda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,419 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Melynda 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 141,693 US residents.
Is Melynda a common name?
We classify Melynda as "Rare". It ranks above 94.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,723 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Melynda most popular?
The single biggest year for Melynda was 1973, when 100 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Melynda is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Melynda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,447 people with the name Melynda, or 0.81 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,533 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 Melynda 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 Melynda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Melynda appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,443 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Melynda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Melynda is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.1%) and Black (4.2%). 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 Melynda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Melynda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.4% (1,967 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 Melynda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Melynda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Melynda 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 Melynda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Melynda 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 Melynda 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 have the name Melynda?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.