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Girl name

Melinda

Melinda holds the #1981 spot on the 2025 list of the most popular girl names in the U.S. That amounts to 97 newborn girls in a single year. Here's the interesting part: Melinda peaked in 1973, faded, and is now climbing again — a classic comeback pattern. Its strongest year on record was 1973 (#72 nationally, 4,144 newborns), in a data series reaching back to 1880. The name's biggest fan base is in Illinois (#1113 there in 2025).

Rankings

2025 rank
#1981
among girl names
Trend
Comeback
last 5 years
All-time peak
#72
in 1973 (1970s)
Babies in 2025
97
girls named Melinda

Melinda popularity, 1880–2025

0.077%0.15%0.23%0.31%18801900192019401960198020002020#72 in 1973
Girls — share of U.S. female birthsSource: SSA, 1880–2025◆ peak 1973

Where Melinda is most popular

Alaska: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025AK—Maine: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025ME—Vermont: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025VT—New Hampshire: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025NH—Washington: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025WA—Idaho: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025ID—Montana: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025MT—North Dakota: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025ND—Minnesota: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025MN—Wisconsin: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025WI—Michigan: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025MI—New York: #1526 (8 girls, 0.01% of girls born 2025)NY#1526Massachusetts: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025MA—Rhode Island: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025RI—Oregon: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025OR—Nevada: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025NV—Wyoming: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025WY—South Dakota: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025SD—Iowa: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025IA—Illinois: #1113 (7 girls, 0.02% of girls born 2025)IL#1113Indiana: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025IN—Ohio: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025OH—Pennsylvania: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025PA—New Jersey: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025NJ—Connecticut: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025CT—California: #1409 (16 girls, 0.01% of girls born 2025)CA#1409Utah: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025UT—Colorado: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025CO—Nebraska: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025NE—Missouri: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025MO—Kentucky: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025KY—West Virginia: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025WV—Virginia: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025VA—Maryland: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025MD—Delaware: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025DE—Arizona: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025AZ—New Mexico: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025NM—Kansas: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025KS—Arkansas: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025AR—Tennessee: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025TN—North Carolina: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025NC—South Carolina: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025SC—District of Columbia: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025DC—Oklahoma: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025OK—Louisiana: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025LA—Mississippi: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025MS—Alabama: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025AL—Georgia: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025GA—Hawaii: fewer than 5 girls named Melinda in 2025HI—Texas: #1902 (11 girls, 0.01% of girls born 2025)TX#1902Florida: #1887 (6 girls, 0.01% of girls born 2025)FL#1887
Share of girls born in 2025:lowhighno data (< 5 births)
Strongest states: Illinois (#1113), New York (#1526), California (#1409)

Uniqueness score

63/ 100Uncommon
everywhereone of a kind

Distinctive without being unheard of. Based on how many babies per birth were named Melinda in the most recent year of SSA data.

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