# Melinda (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/melinda/  
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 | girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /məˈlɪn.də/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Mindy, Mendy, Mellie |
| Variant spellings | Malinda |
| US babies named this | 136,159 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 337 / 135,822 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 270, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Coined in the eighteenth century from names such as Melanie and Melissa + -inda.

## 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, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 193 | 1,240 |
| 2012 | 174 | 1,350 |
| 2013 | 150 | 1,485 |
| 2014 | 165 | 1,397 |
| 2015 | 174 | 1,365 |
| 2016 | 139 | 1,597 |
| 2017 | 131 | 1,652 |
| 2018 | 120 | 1,722 |
| 2019 | 98 | 1,985 |
| 2020 | 105 | 1,856 |
| 2021 | 93 | 2,064 |
| 2022 | 83 | 2,269 |
| 2023 | 91 | 2,117 |
| 2024 | 91 | 2,113 |
| 2025 | 97 | 1,985 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 11 | 3,403 |
| 1977 | 10 | 3,755 |
| 1978 | 13 | 3,168 |
| 1979 | 13 | 3,294 |
| 1980 | 15 | 3,052 |
| 1981 | 8 | 4,804 |
| 1982 | 11 | 3,858 |
| 1983 | 9 | 4,369 |
| 1984 | 9 | 4,432 |
| 1985 | 5 | 7,221 |
| 1986 | 7 | 5,726 |
| 1987 | 8 | 5,280 |
| 1988 | 10 | 4,658 |
| 1989 | 7 | 6,694 |
| 1994 | 5 | 9,771 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 14 | 1,901 |
| 2011 | 11 | 2,275 |
| 2012 | 10 | 2,521 |
| 2013 | 12 | 2,176 |
| 2014 | 6 | 3,514 |
| 2015 | 11 | 2,328 |
| 2016 | 5 | 4,096 |
| 2017 | 7 | 3,229 |
| 2018 | 3 | 5,666 |
| 2019 | 10 | 2,458 |
| 2020 | 8 | 2,843 |
| 2021 | 8 | 2,942 |
| 2022 | 9 | 2,673 |
| 2023 | 11 | 2,346 |
| 2024 | 9 | 2,771 |

## People named Melinda

- Melinda Gates, American philanthropist
- Melinda Dillon, American actress (1939–2023)
- Melinda Clarke, American actress
- Melinda Culea, American actress and writer
- Melinda McGraw, American actress
- Melinda Page Hamilton, American actress (born 1974)
- Melinda Gainsford-Taylor, Australian sprinter
- Melinda Shankar, Canadian actress
- Melinda O. Fee, American actress (1942-2020)
- Melinda Gebbie, American comics artist and writer
- Melinda Hanaoui, Algerian volleyball player
- Melinda Wagner, American composer

## 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.