# Melchior (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/melchior/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Hebrew |
| Meaning | “king of light”, “king”, “light” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmɛl.ki.ɔː(ɹ)/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 48 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 48 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 6, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Latin Melchior, from Hebrew מלכיאור (“king of light”), from מלך (“king”) + אור (“light”).

## What it means

Melchior is grouped under king and light.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1915 | 9 | 2,754 |
| 1918 | 6 | 4,009 |
| 1920 | 5 | 4,732 |
| 1921 | 7 | 3,759 |
| 1928 | 6 | 3,991 |
| 1949 | 5 | 4,045 |
| 1953 | 5 | 4,168 |
| 2007 | 5 | 13,724 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 3 | 5,119 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5,137 |

## In other languages

- Bulgarian: Мелхиор
- French: Melchior
- German: Melchior
- Italian: Melchiorre
- Polish: Melchior
- Spanish: Melchor
- Swedish: Melker

## People named Melchior

- Friedrich Melchior, Baron von Grimm, German dramatist and playwright (1723-1807)
- Melchior Broederlam, Early Netherlandish painter
- Melchior Hoffman, Anabaptist prophet (1490-1543)
- Melchior de Vogüé, French diplomat, orientalist, travel writer, archaeologist, philanthropist and literary cr
- Melchior von Diepenbrock, Catholic cardinal (1798-1853)
- Johann Melchior Molter, German composer
- Melchior Treub, Dutch botanist (1851-1910)
- Melchior Neumayr, Austrian paleontologist (1845-1890)
- Melchior Klesl, Catholic cardinal (1552-1630)
- Melchior de Polignac, French diplomat and cardinal (1661-1742)
- Melchior Franck, German composer (1579-1639)
- Melchior Lorck, Danish/German artist (1527-1583)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.