first name
MELVA
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 7,590 people named Melva, 50.6% reported their origin as White, 23.9% as Hispanic or Latino and 21% as Black. Virtually all are female (99.6%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Melva peaked in 1938, when 313 babies got the name.
At least 14,185 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero.
Melva by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1930s, when it ranked #715. The largest share of babies named Melva, 34.6%, were born between 1928 and 1945, the Silent Generation's birth years.
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 Melva is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Melva has been most common in Oklahoma (4.7×), Kansas (3.7×), and Arkansas (2.8×), and least common in Florida (0.13×).
9,873 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.
Either side of Melva
Spelled almost the same
4 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Melva, most common first.
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🔎 MELVA 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜ 1 in 39,793 Americans Rarer than 81.3% of us Peaked in 1938 with 313 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/melva/