Melody
Melody was the 79th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 3,095 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 69 places. More babies were named Melody in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning melody, tune · English, Greek
Say it MEL-uh-dee /ˈmɛlədi/
- Rank in 2025
- #79 girls, up 27 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 3,095girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20253,095 babies
- Total since 1880
- 115,084babies recorded
What does the name Melody mean?
Melody is the English word for a tune, used as a girl's name since the 20th century, according to Wiktionary. The word came through French and Latin from Greek melodia, 'singing, chanting', made from melos, 'song, musical phrase', and oide, 'song' (as in ode). Wikipedia describes it as a modern English name taken directly from the vocabulary word. It belongs with other music-inspired names such as Harmony and Lyric.
μελῳδία (Ancient Greek, “singing, chanting”)μέλος (Ancient Greek, “song, musical phrase”)ᾠδή (Ancient Greek, “song”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Melodie, Harmony.
See also: English names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Melody', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wiktionary, entry 'melody', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Melody (given name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Nicknames for Melody
The usual nicknames for Melody are Mel. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Melody in the last five years, fewer than 1 were named Mel, against 2 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mel · also for Amelia, Melanie, Melissa | Modern | #7,031 | 75 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Melodys go by each one.
Melody popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 170 since 1957.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #79 | 3,095 |
| 2020 | #106 | 2,524 |
| 2010 | #198 | 1,575 |
| 2000 | #399 | 720 |
| 1990 | #315 | 867 |
| 1980 | #199 | 1,317 |
| 1970 | #262 | 1,176 |
| 1960 | #153 | 2,755 |
| 1950 | #273 | 791 |
| 1940 | #1,540 | 26 |
| 1930 | #2,084 | 17 |
| 1920 | #5,501 | 5 |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Melody, counting every spelling?
Melody is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #94 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #79 for Melody on its own. Together these spellings went to 3,266 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melody | 3,095 | #79 | 13,489 |
| Melodie | 94 | #2,032 | 429 |
| Melodi | 53 | #3,092 | 286 |
| Melodee | 13 | #8,182 | 123 |
| Mellody | 11 | #9,269 | 49 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Melody?
3,095 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Melody (0.86 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Melody born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 3 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Melody.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Melody?
About 106,200 people born in the US named Melody are alive today, with a median age of 36; half are between 11 and 60. That makes Melody mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Melody by state
How common Melody was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Rhode Island (2.8×), Delaware (2.2×), New Mexico (2.1×), Nevada (2.0×), Hawaii (1.9×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in District of Columbia, Montana, Wyoming.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Melody: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Melody, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Melody · Sibling names for Melody
Questions about the name Melody
What does Melody mean?
Melody means “melody, tune” (English, Greek origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Melody?
Melody was the 79th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 3,095 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 69 places. More babies were named Melody in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Melody a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Melody in the US.
Where is Melody most popular?
In 2021–2025, Melody was most common in Rhode Island (4.71 per 1,000 girls), followed by Delaware and New Mexico.