boy's name
Melvin
MEL-vin
- Origin Scottish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 259,535
the United States
#958
2025 births
Melvin is a boy's name from a Scottish place name, and the gentle chieftain reading usually given for it is an invention — the source is a Norman family who took their name from Malleville in France. It ranks 790th in France.
- Melvin is a name of Scottish origin.
- Peaked in 1928, when 4,311 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 13,643 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Melvin over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 960 |
| 1890s | 1,335 |
| 1900s | 2,873 |
| 1910s | 21,943 |
| 1920s | 41,011 |
| 1930s | 38,029 |
| 1940s | 39,544 |
| 1950s | 36,455 |
| 1960s | 23,335 |
| 1970s | 13,304 |
| 1980s | 9,540 |
| 1990s | 6,996 |
| 2000s | 6,296 |
| 2010s | 3,705 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,749 |
What Melvin means
Melvin means from the bad town, if the Norman derivation is right — Malleville joins the French for bad to the word for a settlement. The Gaelic readings often given are not supported.
Where Melvin comes from
Melvin comes from the Scottish surname Melville, and that name is Norman: the family took it from Malleville in Normandy, from mal, bad, and ville, a settlement — so a name usually glossed as gentle chieftain or council friend most likely means the poor town. Those Gaelic-sounding readings appear to be later inventions built on the name's Scottish association. The Melvilles held land in Fife from the twelfth century, and Herman Melville descends from the same line. Its use as a given name is American and nineteenth-century.
Melvin in use
Melvin peaked in the United States in 1928, when 4,311 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 790th in France on 50 births, 958th in the United States on 243 and 1719th in England and Wales, across 259,535 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. France gives it the strongest of the three positions, which is unexpected for a Scottish surname.
How popular is Melvin?
In 2025, Melvin was given to 243 babies in the United States, ranking #958 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Melvin 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 Melvin is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mélvin | Mélvin is a rare spelling of Melvin, written with an acute accent and recorded about 5 times, mostly in France. | 5 |
Names that peaked alongside Melvin
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Melvin also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Melvin over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Melvin
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.
Melvin 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 Melvin
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Melvin — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Melvin
What does the name Melvin mean?
Most likely from the bad town — Malleville in Normandy. The gentle chieftain reading appears to be a later invention.
Is Melvin a Scottish name?
It comes from the Scottish surname Melville, but that family were Normans who took their name from a French place.
Is Melvin related to Herman Melville?
Same surname and same Norman line.
How popular is Melvin?
958th in the United States and 790th in France.
Is Melvin a girl's or a boy's name?
Melvin is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Melvin?
Melvin has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Melvin?
Melvin is usually shortened to Mel.
Is Melvin a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Melvin currently ranks #790 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.