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Melvin

Means “bad + settlement”*

CommonRare
Rank 2015: #687, 2016: #727, 2017: #727, 2018: #718, 2019: #758, 2020: #752, 2021: #798, 2022: #827, 2023: #820, 2024: #871, 2025: #9581 in 7,029 boys in the US, 2025#958 · falling · was #687 in 2015
CommonRare
Rank 2015: #2,707, 2016: #2,335, 2017: #1,289, 2018: #3,011, 2019: #1,986, 2020: #2,682, 2021: #2,125, 2022: #1,692, 2023: #1,461, 2024: #1,322, 2025: #1,7051 in 18,129 boys in E&W, 2025#1,705 · rising · was #2,707 in 2015

Boy’s name · from a surname · /ˈmɛlvɪn/

Try with your surname

What Melvin means

Means “bad + settlement”

Variant of the Scottish surname Melville, from a place name Malleville in Normandy, from Latin mala (“bad”) + Old French ville (“settlement”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Melvin” (revision 94541589), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Melvin?

US 2025
#958
243 babies
▼ 87 vs 2024
England & Wales 2025
#1705
15 babies
▼ 383 vs 2024
Scotland
–
Not listed

US: Falling: down from #687 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #2707 in 2015.

0123418801920196020002025
US, 1880–2025England & Wales, 1996–2025Babies per 1,000 boys born. Dot: biggest US share (1928)

Biggest US share so far: 1928, when 4,249 boys got the name (#48 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

  • About 1 in 7,029 baby boys in the US in 2025
  • About 1 in 18,129 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in PA (0.57 per 1,000 boys), KY (0.44 per 1,000 boys), KS (0.43 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

AK
ME
WI
VT
NH
WA
ID
MT
ND
MN
IL
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
WY
SD
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
DC
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
HI
TX
FL
FewerMore · grey: under 5 babies, not listed

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Melvin is #958 in the US and #1705 in England & Wales (2025).

Rank 2025BabiesHow commonRank 2015
US#9582431 in 7,029#687
England & Wales#1705151 in 18,129#2707
Scotland––––

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Melvin were boys.

GirlsBoys
US 20250243
England & Wales 2025015
US all years since 18802,139244,936
England & Wales since 19960381

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

/ˈmɛlvɪn/

IPA from Wiktionary.

If you like Melvin

Boys

  • Lance#862Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1970, with 4,160 babies; 279 in 2025
  • Nelson#824“son of Nicholas”
  • Ryan#99Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1985, with 29,905 babies; 3,532 in 2025
  • Kyle#508“narrows”
  • Curtis#984“polite, courteous”
  • Tyler#219“tiler”

For a sister

  • Ashley#164“ash tree + wood, clearing”
  • Kelly#851Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1977, with 18,234 babies; 319 in 2025
  • Kimberly#302Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #108 in 2015, #302 in 2025
  • Tiffany#878Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1988, with 18,364 babies; 304 in 2025
  • Shelby#649Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1991, with 10,220 babies; 444 in 2025
  • Brooke#313Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1996, with 6,724 babies; 972 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a surname, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Melvin’s. Rank is US 2025.

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