girl's name
Melina
meh-LEE-nuh
- Origin Greek
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 56,873
the United States
#660
2025 births
Melina means honey, and the Greek word behind it is one of the oldest recoverable in Europe — meli is attested in Mycenaean Greek and its relatives run from Hittite to English mildew. France ranks it 230th.
- Melina is a name of Greek origin.
- Peaked in 2009, when 681 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 7,639 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1883.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Melina over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 720 |
| 1910s | 430 |
| 1920s | 280 |
| 1930s | 110 |
| 1940s | 15 |
| 1950s | 25 |
| 1960s | 75 |
| 1970s | 1,085 |
| 1980s | 2,105 |
| 1990s | 4,380 |
| 2000s | 8,890 |
| 2010s | 11,065 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,065 |
What Melina means
Melina means honey. The Greek names the substance directly, so the sense is sweetness by association rather than a description of character. The Greek word is among the oldest recoverable in Europe.
Where Melina comes from
Melina is a Greek diminutive of meli, honey — a word attested in Mycenaean Greek on Linear B tablets and cognate with the Latin mel, which gives mellifluous and marmalade. Melissa, a bee, is built on the same root, and so is the Melissae, the priestesses of Demeter. Melina Mercouri, the actress who became Greece's culture minister and campaigned for the return of the Parthenon marbles, carried the name internationally.
Melina in use
Melina peaked in the United States in 2009, when 681 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 230th in France on 325 births — its strongest market — then 660th in the United States on 434, 727th in England and Wales on 51 and 1059th in Ireland on 3, across 56,873 lifetime births in five of the seven markets we track. France ran its own peak of 620 births in 2011.
How popular is Melina?
In 2025, Melina was given to 434 babies in the United States, ranking #660 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Melina is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Melina is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mélina | Mélina is Melina written with an acute accent, used in France, where it ranks #230. | 28,445 |
| Mèlina | Mèlina is a rare spelling of Melina, written with a grave accent and recorded about 20 times, mostly in France. | 20 |
Names that peaked alongside Melina
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Melina also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Melina over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Melina
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Melina in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Melina
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Melina — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Melina
What does the name Melina mean?
Honey — the Greek meli.
Is Melissa related?
Yes — Melissa means a bee, built on the same root.
How old is the word?
Meli is attested in Mycenaean Greek on Linear B tablets.
Where is Melina most used?
France at 230th, ahead of the United States at 660th.
How popular is the name Melina?
In 2025, Melina was given to 434 babies in the United States, ranking #660 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Melina a girl's or a boy's name?
Melina is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Melina?
Melina has 3 syllables.
When was Melina most popular?
Melina peaked in 2009, when 681 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Melina?
Melina is usually shortened to Lina and Mel.
Is Melina a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Melina currently ranks #230 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.