Melanie: Name Meaning, Origin, Popularity, & Inspiration

Girl name origins & meanings

Greek : Dark-skinned

What does Melanie mean and stand for?

The name Melanie is of Greek origin and means "black, dark". It is the French form of the Latin name Melania. During the Middle Ages, Melanie was popular in France before being introduced to England, but has since become more rare.

Syllables: 3

Girl name variations

Famous people with this first name

Melanie Brown

Melanie Griffith

Famous people who gave their babies this name

Peter Gabriel

Vanessa Williams

William Shatner

Popularity

According to Social Security Administration data, Melanie has been consistently popular, remaining in the top 100 from 2002 to 2017. Melanie has remained in the top 110 since 2018.

However, it is the 46th most popular name on FamilyEducation.com.

According to Google search data analysis, in the last five years Melanie was at its peak popularity in December 2017.

Melanie first gained popularity as a name for two Roman saints in the fifth century. The name was introduced from France to England during the Middle Ages; however, Melanie truly gained popularity in America during the 1930s and 1960s after the publication (and following movie) of Gone with the Wind. It was also used as the name for one of the characters in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds and is the name of two members of the band The Spice Girls: Mel B and Mel C.