How rare is the name Mel?

7,890 people in the United States have the first name Mel, about 1 in 38,280. It ranks #2,893 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census, tied with 1 other.

first name

MEL

#2,893

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
7,890
About
1 in 38,280
This common or more
81.1%
Who bears it

Of the 7,890 people named Mel, 59.4% reported their origin as White, 15% as Hispanic or Latino and 12.1% as Black. 68.1% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Mel peaked in 1958, when 132 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
19022025
Peak year
1958
Births that year
132
In 2025*
27 ▼80%
Recorded as
mostly male

At least 4,201 babies have been given the name since 1902. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Mel by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1940s, when it ranked #1,624. The largest share of babies named Mel, 41.9%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).

1900s#3,75917
1910s#4,000106
1920s#3,989162
1930s#2,142377
1940s#1,624755
1950s#1,741935
1960s#2,080755
1970s#4,429271
1980s#7,923143
1990s#10,316141
2000s#8,485255
2010s#13,542139
2020s#9,133145
Greatest Generation 1901–276.2%
Silent Generation 1928–4519.5%
Baby boom 1946–6441.9%
Generation X 1965–8013.4%
Millennials 1981–965.2%
Generation Z 1997–127.9%
2013 and later5.9%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Mel is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Mel has been most common in California (3.7×), New York (3.2×), and Illinois (2.6×), and least common in Michigan (0.76×).

1,272 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Exactly as common as Mel

1 other first name also has 7,890 people.

#2,893 Hiram · 7,890

Either side of Mel

#2,891 Carmelita · 7,909#2,893 Hiram · 7,890#2,895 Mariya · 7,885#2,896 Jaydon · 7,883

Spelled almost the same

6 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Mel, most common first.

#9,946 Mele · 1,366#13,474 Mela · 895#18,697 Mely · 574#22,349 Meli · 446#25,533 Mell · 371#27,468 Melo · 333

Also a last name

As a last name, Mel ranks #72,089 of 156,621, with 291 people. See Mel as a last name

Compare