Meaning not yet researched.
Melinda: US girls given the name each year, 1880 to 2025, from Social Security card applications. 97 in 2025. Its best rank was #72 in 1973.
US births per year · SSA card applications
Peaked at #72 in 1973; #1,985 in 2025. Every baby recorded as Melinda in 2025 was a girl.
Baby name · US data 1880–2025
#1,985 for US girls in 2025. Its best year was 1973, at #72.
Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for any year. Years with fewer than five babies of a sex are not published by SSA and show as zero.
Melinda: US girls given the name each year from 1880 to 2025. 97 girls in 2025. Peak: #72 in 1973 · most girls in one year: 4,225 (1970).
In 2025, 97 US girls were named Melinda, making it the 1,985th most common girls’ name of the year, up 128 places from #2,113 in 2024. That is 6 more than the 91 girls named Melinda in 2024. Its best rank for girls was #72, reached in 1973. The most girls given the name in a single year was 4,225, in 1970. For comparison, it was #1,365 in 2015 and #222 in 1950.
Social Security card records list Melinda in every one of the 146 years from 1880 to 2025; in 1880 there were 14 babies with the name. In all, 136,159 US babies have been given the name, 99.7% of them girls and 0.2% boys. Its busiest decade was the 1970s, with 36,577 babies named Melinda.
Over the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, 1,048 US girls were named Melinda; the busiest of those years was 2016, with 139. In 2025 that was about 1 in 16,570 of the girls in SSA’s list for the year.
Among the states, Melinda ranked highest in Illinois in 2025, at #1,197 for girls there. It was not in the top 100 of any state. Related spellings in the SSA files include Malinda (21,464 babies since 1880), Melina (19,926 babies since 1880) and Melynda (2,723 babies since 1880). Rarer spellings such as Milinda, Mylinda and Melenda are summarised on this page. The open nickname list we use links it to Linda, Lindy, Lynn, Mel and Mindy.
Meaning not yet researched.
We publish a meaning only with a cited source and a confidence label, and never generate one. Meanings are being researched for the most common names first.
Wikidata records this spelling as a given name in Dutch and Latin. That is where the name is used, not necessarily where it comes from.
Rare spellings summarised here: Milinda (1,033), Mylinda (808), Melenda (95), Mellinda (27), Milynda (7), Mylynda (5).
Numbers are all-time US births. Links come from Wikidata’s “said to be the same as” (P460, CC0) and our spelling rule: at most two letters different, with the same sound pattern.
US girls. Rank within each state. SSA leaves out states where fewer than five girls got the name, so 46 are not listed.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank 2025 | Rank 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 7 | #1,197 | #1,591 |
| California | 16 | #1,461 | #720 |
| New York | 8 | #1,613 | #1,716 |
| Texas | 11 | #2,003 | #1,256 |
| Florida | 6 | #2,063 | #1,030 |
Births and national rank for each year SSA lists the name, newest first.
| Year | Girls | Girls rank | Boys | Boys rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 97 | #1,985 | — | — |
| 2024 | 91 | #2,113 | — | — |
| 2023 | 91 | #2,117 | — | — |
| 2022 | 83 | #2,269 | — | — |
| 2021 | 93 | #2,064 | — | — |
| 2020 | 105 | #1,856 | — | — |
| 2019 | 98 | #1,985 | — | — |
| 2018 | 120 | #1,722 | — | — |
| 2017 | 131 | #1,652 | — | — |
| 2016 | 139 | #1,597 | — | — |
| 2015 | 174 | #1,365 | — | — |
| 2014 | 165 | #1,397 | — | — |
| 2013 | 150 | #1,485 | — | — |
| 2012 | 174 | #1,350 | — | — |
| 2011 | 193 | #1,240 | — | — |
| 2010 | 227 | #1,099 | — | — |
| 2009 | 209 | #1,203 | — | — |
| 2008 | 253 | #1,037 | — | — |
| 2007 | 251 | #1,046 | — | — |
| 2006 | 252 | #1,017 | — | — |
| 2005 | 217 | #1,101 | — | — |
| 2004 | 219 | #1,059 | — | — |
| 2003 | 209 | #1,070 | — | — |
| 2002 | 242 | #927 | — | — |
| 2001 | 306 | #773 | — | — |
| 2000 | 337 | #696 | — | — |
| 1999 | 401 | #606 | — | — |
| 1998 | 414 | #585 | — | — |
| 1997 | 462 | #520 | — | — |
| 1996 | 540 | #465 | — | — |
| 1995 | 633 | #409 | — | — |
| 1994 | 765 | #348 | 5 | #9,771 |
| 1993 | 979 | #283 | — | — |
| 1992 | 1,085 | #259 | — | — |
| 1991 | 1,266 | #223 | — | — |
| 1990 | 1,381 | #208 | — | — |
| 1989 | 1,586 | #175 | 7 | #6,694 |
| 1988 | 1,879 | #148 | 10 | #4,658 |
| 1987 | 1,920 | #143 | 8 | #5,280 |
| 1986 | 1,959 | #147 | 7 | #5,726 |
| 1985 | 2,114 | #138 | 5 | #7,221 |
| 1984 | 2,228 | #129 | 9 | #4,432 |
| 1983 | 2,142 | #138 | 9 | #4,369 |
| 1982 | 2,409 | #123 | 11 | #3,858 |
| 1981 | 2,774 | #108 | 8 | #4,804 |
| 1980 | 3,201 | #92 | 15 | #3,052 |
| 1979 | 3,705 | #82 | 13 | #3,294 |
| 1978 | 3,563 | #84 | 13 | #3,168 |
| 1977 | 3,044 | #96 | 10 | #3,755 |
| 1976 | 2,995 | #95 | 11 | #3,403 |
| 1975 | 3,282 | #91 | 18 | #2,416 |
| 1974 | 3,752 | #81 | 17 | #2,423 |
| 1973 | 4,144 | #72 | 12 | #2,962 |
| 1972 | 3,671 | #81 | 15 | #2,503 |
| 1971 | 4,057 | #85 | 19 | #2,180 |
| 1970 | 4,225 | #93 | 11 | #3,010 |
| 1969 | 3,988 | #89 | 15 | #2,274 |
| 1968 | 3,814 | #90 | 8 | #3,278 |
| 1967 | 3,632 | #95 | 8 | #3,155 |
| 1966 | 3,382 | #102 | 10 | #2,733 |
| 1965 | 3,796 | #100 | 6 | #3,796 |
| 1964 | 3,703 | #113 | 7 | #3,499 |
| 1963 | 3,575 | #121 | 8 | #3,238 |
| 1962 | 3,854 | #118 | 8 | #3,218 |
| 1961 | 3,507 | #129 | 7 | #3,562 |
| 1960 | 3,046 | #143 | 5 | #4,411 |
| 1959 | 2,805 | #151 | 7 | #3,487 |
| 1958 | 2,937 | #142 | 5 | #4,314 |
| 1957 | 2,828 | #146 | — | — |
| 1956 | 2,713 | #142 | — | — |
| 1955 | 2,413 | #150 | 5 | #4,203 |
| 1954 | 1,954 | #176 | 5 | #4,176 |
| 1953 | 1,773 | #176 | — | — |
| 1952 | 1,513 | #195 | — | — |
| 1951 | 1,410 | #205 | — | — |
| 1950 | 1,163 | #222 | — | — |
| 1949 | 1,073 | #227 | — | — |
| 1948 | 840 | #265 | — | — |
| 1947 | 696 | #299 | — | — |
| 1946 | 484 | #336 | — | — |
| 1945 | 355 | #374 | — | — |
| 1944 | 393 | #347 | — | — |
| 1943 | 510 | #308 | — | — |
| 1942 | 442 | #329 | — | — |
| 1941 | 328 | #374 | — | — |
| 1940 | 302 | #383 | — | — |
| 1939 | 192 | #486 | — | — |
| 1938 | 108 | #664 | — | — |
| 1937 | 80 | #764 | — | — |
| 1936 | 48 | #999 | — | — |
| 1935 | 39 | #1,131 | — | — |
| 1934 | 20 | #1,750 | — | — |
| 1933 | 21 | #1,699 | — | — |
| 1932 | 20 | #1,795 | — | — |
| 1931 | 18 | #1,929 | — | — |
| 1930 | 21 | #1,791 | — | — |
| 1929 | 19 | #1,934 | — | — |
| 1928 | 10 | #3,087 | — | — |
| 1927 | 22 | #1,863 | — | — |
| 1926 | 17 | #2,227 | — | — |
| 1925 | 26 | #1,685 | — | — |
| 1924 | 24 | #1,794 | — | — |
| 1923 | 23 | #1,810 | — | — |
| 1922 | 22 | #1,872 | — | — |
| 1921 | 16 | #2,347 | — | — |
| 1920 | 23 | #1,790 | — | — |
| 1919 | 25 | #1,636 | — | — |
| 1918 | 22 | #1,790 | — | — |
| 1917 | 19 | #1,892 | — | — |
| 1916 | 24 | #1,568 | — | — |
| 1915 | 24 | #1,508 | — | — |
| 1914 | 23 | #1,328 | — | — |
| 1913 | 17 | #1,445 | — | — |
| 1912 | 24 | #1,071 | — | — |
| 1911 | 5 | #2,728 | — | — |
| 1910 | 16 | #1,152 | — | — |
| 1909 | 15 | #1,091 | — | — |
| 1908 | 14 | #1,122 | — | — |
| 1907 | 15 | #1,024 | — | — |
| 1906 | 11 | #1,207 | — | — |
| 1905 | 6 | #1,847 | — | — |
| 1904 | 18 | #871 | — | — |
| 1903 | 11 | #1,117 | — | — |
| 1902 | 10 | #1,188 | — | — |
| 1901 | 17 | #816 | — | — |
| 1900 | 20 | #852 | — | — |
| 1899 | 17 | #810 | — | — |
| 1898 | 20 | #765 | — | — |
| 1897 | 15 | #855 | — | — |
| 1896 | 14 | #891 | — | — |
| 1895 | 22 | #677 | — | — |
| 1894 | 14 | #836 | — | — |
| 1893 | 13 | #849 | — | — |
| 1892 | 20 | #653 | — | — |
| 1891 | 9 | #984 | — | — |
| 1890 | 13 | #781 | — | — |
| 1889 | 17 | #633 | — | — |
| 1888 | 21 | #557 | — | — |
| 1887 | 8 | #915 | — | — |
| 1886 | 19 | #521 | — | — |
| 1885 | 10 | #726 | — | — |
| 1884 | 7 | #902 | — | — |
| 1883 | 12 | #575 | — | — |
| 1882 | 10 | #623 | — | — |
| 1881 | 11 | #527 | — | — |
| 1880 | 14 | #462 | — | — |
About the data: counts are Social Security card applications for US births, for names given to at least five babies of a sex in a year (SSA, names.zip, public domain). Ranks follow SSA’s own order: most births first, ties alphabetical. Files retrieved 2026-10-05 (checksum on our sources page).