Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".Melas, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon''
at Perseus project Borne in its Latin form by two saints,

Melania the Elder Melania the Elder, Latin Melania Maior (born in Spain, ca. 350–died in Jerusalem before 410 or in ca. 417) was a Desert Mother who was an influential figure in the Christian ascetic movement (the Desert Fathers and Mothers) that sprang up in th ...

and her granddaughter Melania the Younger,Behind the Name
/ref> the name was introduced to England by the Normans in its French form ''Melanie''. However, the name only became common in English usage in the 1930s because of the popularity of

Margaret Mitchell Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949) was an American novelist and journalist. Mitchell wrote only one novel, published during her lifetime, the American Civil War-era novel '' Gone with the Wind'', for which she wo ...

's 1936 novel '' Gone with the Wind'' and its 1939 film adaptation, as one of the novel's main characters was named Melanie Hamilton. The name's popularity increased until the 1970s, since remaining constant. Melanie was the 80th most popular name for girls born in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1957 and, as Mélanie, it was the 86th most popular name for girls born in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 2004.

People named Melanie

Melanie Blake Melanie Blake is an English author, columnist and talent agent. Blake began her career working as a camera assistant on ''Top of the Pops'' and eventually formed her own music agency. After representing music stars, she formed an acting and PR ...

, English talent agent and author * Melanie Blatt (born 1975), British singer, member of All Saints *

Melanie le Brocquy Melanie le Brocquy (23 December 191922 June 2018) was an Irish sculptor who specialized in female figures and family members. Forms are reduced to a simple statement. Although she did not create very many works, her skills are widely respected. Am ...

(1919–2018), Irish sculptor * Melanie Brown (Mel B) (born 1975), British singer and member of the Spice Girls * Melanie Chisholm (Melanie C) (born 1974), British singer and member of the Spice Girls *

Melanie Clewlow Melanie "Mel" Clewlow (born 7 May 1976 in Dover, Kent) is an English field hockey player. She was a member of the England and Great Britain squads. She made her international debut in 1996, and was part of the England squad that won silver in ...

(born 1976), English hockey defender * Melanie Counsell (born 1964), Welsh filmmaker, installation artist and sculptor *

Melanie Doane Melanie Doane is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and music educator. Early years Daughter of J. Chalmers Doane, a music educator and member of the Order of Canada, Doane learned many instruments at a young age, including piano, bass gui ...

(born 1967), Canadian singer *

Melanie Fiona Melanie Fiona Hallim (born July 4, 1983) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario.Melanie Fontana Melanie Joy Fontana (born October 3, 1986)Joyce Cohen''New York Times'', December 26, 2004. is an American singer, composer and songwriter signed to Universal Music Group. Early life Fontana was born in Newington, Connecticut. She moved to New Y ...

(born 1986), American singer *

Melanie Wade Goodwin Melanie Wade Goodwin (July 22, 1970 – September 1, 2020) was an American politician who served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 66th district as a member of the Democratic Party. She was the first member of the North ...

(1970–2020), American politician *

Melanie Griffith Melanie Richards Griffith (born August 9, 1957) is an American actress. She began her career in the 1970s, appearing in several independent thriller films before achieving mainstream success in the mid-1980s. Born in Manhattan, New York City, ...

(born 1957), American actress *

Melanie Hahnemann Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".Melanie Hall (1970–2004), English murder victim *

Melanie Hall (basketball) Melanie Hall (born 11 January 1977) is a wheelchair basketball player from Australia. She is a paraplegic as a result of a motor vehicle accident. She was part of the bronze medal-winning Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team ...

, Australian athlete *

Sister Mary Melanie Holliday Sister Mary Melanie Holliday (born Martha Ann "Mattie" Holliday; December 14, 1850 - April 19, 1939) was an American Catholic nun. As a member of the Sisters of Mercy, she served as Mother Superior at the Convent and Academy of St. Vincent de P ...

(1850-1939), American Catholic nun *

Melanie Jans Melanie Jans (born July 3, 1973) is a Canadian professional female squash player who represented Canada during her career. She reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 25 in March 1999 after having joined the Women's International Squash ...

(born 1973), Canadian squash player *

Melanie Johnson Melanie Jane Johnson (born 5 February 1955) is a Labour politician in the United Kingdom. Early life Johnson was born in Ipswich. She attended the Independent Clifton High School in Clifton, Bristol. Leaving Bristol for London, she studied at ...

(born 1955), British politician *

Melanie Klaffner Melanie Klaffner (; born 22 May 1990) is an Austrian tennis player. Klaffner has won 15 singles and 23 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 27 January 2014, she reached her best singles ranking of No. 175 in the world. On 25 May 2009, she pea ...

(born 1990), Austrian tennis player * Melanie Klein (1882–1960), Austrian-born British psychoanalyst *

Melanie Kreis Melanie Kreis (born 1971) is a German businesswoman, member of the board of managing directors and the chief financial officer (CFO) of Deutsche Post, the world's largest logistics company, since October 2016. Education Kreis attended the Stat ...

(born 1971), German businesswoman *

Melanie Lambert Professional skaters from the British television show ''Dancing on Ice'' are figure skaters who appear with celebrities in front of a panel of judges. Most of the professionals on the series are former ice dancers or pair skaters. Competit ...

(born 1974), American adagio and pair skater * Melanie Leslie (born 1961), dean of the

Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law is the law school of Yeshiva University. Located in New York City and founded in 1976, the school is named for Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo. Cardozo graduated its first class in 1979. An LL.M. p ...

* Melanie Lynskey (born 1977), New Zealand actress * Melanie Martinez (born 1972), American actress * Melanie Martinez (singer) (born 1995), American singer-songwriter *

Melanie Mayron Melanie Joy Mayron is an American actress and director of film and television. Mayron is best known for her role as photographer Melissa Steadman on the ABC drama ''thirtysomething'' for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Sup ...

(born 1952), American actress *

Melanie McFadyean Melanie McFadyean is a British journalist and lecturer. She has written for a wide range of papers, including ''The Guardian'', ''The Observer'', ''The Sunday Times'' and ''The Independent'', particularly about social injustice, immigration and as ...

, British journalist *

Melanie McGuire Melanie Lyn McGuire (''née'' Slate; born October 8, 1972) is an American former nurse who was convicted of murdering her husband on April 28, 2004, in what media dubbed the "suitcase murder". She was sentenced to life in prison on July 19, 2007, ...

(born 1972), American criminal who murdered her husband, dismembered his body and put it into suitcases * Melanie Merkosky (born 1986), Canadian actress *

Melanie Nolan Melanie Claire Nolan (born 1960) is a historian and university academic from New Zealand, specialising in labour and gender history. She is the Director of the National Centre of Biography at the Australian National University, and General Editor ...

(born 1960), New Zealand historian *

Melanie Phillips Melanie Phillips (born 4 June 1951) is a British journalist, author, and public commentator. She began her career writing for ''The Guardian'' and ''New Statesman''. During the 1990s, she came to identify with ideas more associated with the righ ...

(born 1951), British journalist * Melanie Safka (born 1947), American singer/songwriter born Melanie Anne Safka, professionally known as Melanie * Melanie South (born 1986), British tennis player *

Melanie Stabel Melanie Stabel (born 30 September 1999) is a German deaf sport shooter. She represented Germany at the 2017 Summer Deaflympics and claimed 3 medals including a gold medal in the women's 10m air rifle with a record score of 412.6 in the finals. ...

(born 1999), German sport shooter * Melanie Stansbury (born 1979), American politician and scientist * Melanie Thornton (1967–2001), American pop singer *

Melanie Weisner Melanie Weisner (born September 30, 1986) is an American professional poker player. She is also known by her PokerStars online screen name Callisto 5. Poker Online poker Born in Houston, Texas, Weisner studied vocal performance at New York Un ...

(born 1986), American professional poker player

People named Mélanie

Mélanie is a feminine French given name. Notable people with the name include: *

Mélanie Bernier Mélanie Bernier (born 5 January 1985) is a French actress. She has appeared in several films, such as '' L'Assaut'' (2011), directed by Julien Leclerq, relating the hijacking of an Air France A300 in December 1994, and also in several televisi ...

(b. 1985), French actress *

Mélanie Bonis Mélanie Hélène Bonis, known as Mel Bonis (21 January 1858 – 18 March 1937), was a prolific French late-Romantic composer. She wrote more than 300 pieces, including works for piano solo and four hands, organ pieces, chamber music, ''mélodies' ...

(1858–1937), French composer *

Mélanie Calvat Françoise Mélanie Calvat (, 7 November 183114 December 1904), called Mathieu, was a French Roman Catholic nun and Marian visionary. As a religious, she was called Sister Mary of the Cross. She and Maximin Giraud were the two seers of Our Lady ...

(1831–1904), French nun * Mélanie Cohl (b. 1982), Belgian singer * Mélanie Doutey, French actress *

Mélanie Laurent Mélanie Laurent (; born 21 February 1983) is a French actress, filmmaker, and singer. The recipient of two César Awards and a Lumières Award, she is an accomplished actress in the French film industry. Globally, she is best known for her role ...

(b. 1983), French actress and director *

Mélanie de Pourtalès Mélanie de Pourtalès, Countess Edmond de Pourtalès (''née'' Louise Sophie Mélanie Renouard de Bussière) (26 March 1836 – 5 May 1914) was a French ''salonnière'' and courtier. Early life She was born on 26 March 1836 at the Château de Ro ...

(1836–1914), French salonnière and courtier *

Mélanie Turgeon Mélanie Turgeon (born October 21, 1976, in Alma, Quebec) is a skier and former member of the Canadian national ski team. A member of the Mont Ste. Anne ski club, Turgeon joined the Canadian national ski team in 1992 at the age of only sixteen. ...

(b. 1976), Canadian skier

Fictional characters

Melanie Barnett Melanie Barnett-Davis is a fictional character, portrayed by actress Tia Mowry, who appears in the American sitcom ''The Game'', which aired on the CW Television Network and BET from 2006 to 2015. Introduced in a backdoor pilot on the sitcom '' ...

, a character from the television series '' The Game'' *

Melanie Bush Mel, also sometimes referred to as Melanie, is a fictional character played by Bonnie Langford in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. A computer programmer from the 20th century who is a companion of the ...

, a character in the television series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' * Melanie Hamilton, a character in the novel '' Gone with the Wind'' *

Melanie Jonas Melanie Jonas is a fictional character from ''Days of Our Lives'', an American soap opera on the NBC network. Created by former head writers Rick Draughon and Dena Higley, the role is portrayed by Molly Burnett. She originally arrived as the daugh ...

, a former character on the American soap opera ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

'' * Melanie Marcus, a character in the television series ''Queer as Folk'' * Melanie Stryder, a character from the book '' The Host'' by Stephenie Meyer * Melanie Walker, a character from '' Batman Beyond''

References

{{given name English feminine given names Given names of Greek language origin Scottish feminine given names Irish feminine given names French feminine given names German feminine given names Dutch feminine given names Welsh feminine given names

People named Melanie

People named Mélanie

Fictional characters

See also

References