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 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's 1936 novel ''Gone with the Wind (novel), Gone with the Wind'' and its Gone with the Wind (film), 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 in 1957 and, as Mélanie, it was the 86th most popular name for girls born in France in 2004.

People named Melanie

* Melanie Blake, English talent agent and author * Melanie Blatt (born 1975), British singer, member of All Saints * Melanie Le Brocquy, Melanie le Brocquy (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 (born 1976), English hockey defender * Melanie Counsell (born 1964), Welsh filmmaker, installation artist and sculptor * Melanie Doane (born 1967), Canadian singer * Melanie Fiona (born 1983), Canadian singer * Melanie Fontana (born 1986), American singer * Melanie Wade Goodwin (1970–2020), American politician * Melanie Griffith (born 1957), American actress * Melanie Hahnemann (1800–1878), homeopath * Murder of Melanie Hall, Melanie Hall (1970–2004), English murder victim * Melanie Hall (basketball), Australian athlete * Sister Mary Melanie Holliday (1850-1939), American Catholic nun * Melanie Jans (born 1973), Canadian squash player * Melanie Johnson (born 1955), British politician * Melanie Klaffner (born 1990), Austrian tennis player * Melanie Klein (1882–1960), Austrian-born British psychoanalyst * Melanie Kreis (born 1971), German businesswoman * Melanie Lambert and Fred Palascak, Melanie Lambert (born 1974), American adagio and pair skater * Melanie Leslie (born 1961), dean of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law * Melanie Lynskey (born 1977), New Zealand actress * Melanie Martinez (actress), Melanie Martinez (born 1972), American actress * Melanie Martinez (singer) (born 1995), American singer-songwriter * Melanie Mayron (born 1952), American actress * Melanie McFadyean, British journalist * Melanie McGuire (born 1972), American criminal who murdered her husband, dismembered his body and put it into suitcases * Melanie Merkosky (born 1986), Canadian actress * Melanie Nolan (born 1960), New Zealand historian * Melanie Phillips (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 (born 1999), German sport shooter * Melanie Stansbury (born 1979), American politician and scientist * Melanie Thornton (1967–2001), American pop singer * Melanie Weisner (born 1986), American professional poker player

People named Mélanie

Mélanie is a feminine French given name. Notable people with the name include: *Mélanie Bernier (b. 1985), French actress *Mélanie Bonis (1858–1937), French composer *Mélanie Calvat (1831–1904), French nun *Mélanie Cohl (b. 1982), Belgian singer *Mélanie Doutey, French actress *Mélanie Laurent (b. 1983), French actress and director *Mélanie de Pourtalès (1836–1914), French salonnière and courtier *Mélanie Turgeon (b. 1976), Canadian skier

Fictional characters

* Melanie Barnett, a character from the television series ''The Game (U.S. TV series), The Game'' * Mel Bush, Melanie Bush, a character in the television series ''Doctor Who'' * Melanie Hamilton, a character in the novel ''Gone with the Wind (novel), Gone with the Wind'' * Melanie Jonas, a former character on the American soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'' * List of Queer as Folk characters#Melanie Marcus, Melanie Marcus, a character in the television series ''Queer as Folk'' * Melanie Stryder, a character from the book ''The Host (novel), The Host'' by Stephenie Meyer * List of Batman Beyond characters, 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