# Melvin (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/melvin/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Old French.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | French |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 20,008 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,795 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 15,431 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.5% (19,523 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmɛlvɪn/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Variant of the Scottish surname Melville, from a place name Malleville in Normandy, from Latin mala (“bad”) + Old French ville (“settlement”). * Used to Anglicize Mac Gille Beathain in Scotland and Ó Maoil Mhín in Ireland.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Melvin in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 68% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 27% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5% |
| Two or more races | 1.9% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Melvin in the United States and the United Kingdom.

## People named Melvin

- Murray Melvin, British actor (1932–2023)
- Allan Melvin, American actor (1923–2008)
- Eric Melvin, American punk musician
- Rachel Melvin, American actress
- Chasity Melvin, American basketball player (born 1976)
- Bob Melvin, American baseball player and manager

## Similar surnames

Mulvaney.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.