Melinda is a feminine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

Etymology

The modern name ''Melinda'' is a combination of "Mel" with the suffix "-inda". "Mel" can be derived from names such as Melanie meaning "dark, black" in Greek, or from Melissa (μέλισσα) meaning "honeybee" in Greek. It is also associated with the Greek word ''meli'', meaning "honey", and with Linda, from "lind" meaning "gentle, soft, tender" in the Germanic languages.

Pronunciation

The typical English pronunciation of Melinda is . In Hungarian, the stress is on the first syllable: .

Usage and popularity

The name Melinda is used in English and Hungarian. In the United States, its popularity peaked in 1973 at No. 72. In 1990 it was in the top 1000 names in the US, and in 2002 it was in the top 100 names in Hungary. Since its peak the popularity of the name Melinda has been gradually declining in the United States, to last be seen on the top 1000 list in 2002 at No. 932.Popular Baby Names
Social Security Administration Variations in spelling include Melynda, Melyndah, Malinda, and Milinda. József Katona, Hungarian playwright and poet, used the name Melinda first in 1815 in his legendary historical tragedy '' Bánk bán''. In Hungary, December 2 is the name day for Melinda.

Notable people

Academics

Malinda Carpenter Malinda Carpenter,Ph.D, FRSE is a professor of developmental psychology at the University of St Andrews, an international researcher specialising in infant and child communications, prosocial behaviour and group reactions, in how people learn to ...

, Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, child development psychology researcher *

Melinda H. Keefe Melinda H. Keefe is a research and development director at the Dow Chemical Company, where she works on architectural coatings. She helped to develop the award-winning Evoque pre-composite polymer platform, reducing usage. Keefe also leads a c ...

, American art restorer *

Melinda Mills Melinda Mills, (born 1969) is a Canadian and Dutch demographer and sociologist. She is currently the Nuffield Professor of Sociology at Nuffield College, University of Oxford.

, British sociologist * Melinda Takeuchi, American art historian * Melinda Tan, Singaporean linguist * Melinda Wortz, American art historian

Actors

* Melinda Clarke, American actress *

Melinda Y. Cohen Melinda Y. Cohen is an American film and television actress. Background Cohen was born in Stony Brook, New York and at the age of 5, moved to Hamburg in Germany, her mother's home country. She returned to New York when she was 10 and later mo ...

, American actress * Melinda "Mindy" Cohn, American actress *

Melinda Culea Melinda Culea (born May 5, 1955) is an American actress. Early life Culea was born on May 5, 1955, in Western Springs, Illinois. She worked as a model before acting.Dangaard, Colin (1983) "Melinda Culea: The Struggle Goes on", ''Milwaukee Jo ...

, American actress * Melinda Dillon, American actress * Melinda O. Fee, American actress * Melinda Kinnaman, Swedish actress *

Melinda Marx Melinda Marie Marx (born August 14, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and musician who had a brief movie career. She is the daughter and only surviving child of Groucho Marx and his second wife, Kay Marvis Gorcey. Life and work Marx appeare ...

, American actress and daughter of

Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit an ...

* Melinda McGraw, American actress * Melinda Messenger, English model and TV presenter * Melinda Mullins, American actress *

Melinda Page Hamilton Melinda Page Hamilton (born August 22, 1974) is an American actress, best known for her role as Odessa Burakov in the Lifetime comedy-drama series ''Devious Maids'', and for her leading role in the independent film '' Sleeping Dogs Lie'' (2006) ...

, American actress *

Melinda Shankar Melinda Leanna Shankar (born February 18, 1992) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for starring as Alli Bhandari in the television series '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' (2008-2015) and as Indira "Indie" Mehta in the YTV series ''How ...

, Canadian actress * Melinda Sullivan, American dancer and actress *

Melinda Sward Melinda Sward is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Pretty Crane on soap opera ''Passions'' (2007–2008). Career She portrayed Pretty Crane on soap opera ''Passions'' from July 30, 2007 to June 30, 2008. She had guest ro ...

, American actress * Malinda Williams, American actress

Artists

Melinda Bordelon Melinda Jane Bordelon (March 6, 1949 – November 18, 1995) was an American Painting, painter and illustrator whose professional work adorns magazine covers, articles, and advertisements—as well as album covers, book covers, and video game pack ...

, American painter *

Melinda Doring ''Melinda Doring'' is an Australian production designer and former costume designer. She has won the AACTA Award for Best Production Design four times and been nominated twice more. Career In reviews of ''Home Song Stories'' (2007), '' Varie ...

, Australian costume designer *

Melinda Looi Melinda Looi Lai Yee (; born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) is a fashion designer known for her avant-garde and vintage style. She won the prize "Designer of the Year" twice at the Malaysian International Fashion Awards and latest in 2009, at t ...

, Malaysian fashion designer * Melinda Rackham, Australian artist

Entertainers

* Melinda Bam South African model and beauty pageant titleholder *

Melinda Ledbetter Melinda Kae Wilson (née Ledbetter, born October 3, 1946) is an American talent manager who is the second wife and longtime manager of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. She was formerly a model and car saleswoman. Ledbetter is credited with helping ...

, wife and manager of

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

* Malinda Kathleen Reese, American YouTube personality, actress and singer * Melinda Saxe, American magician

Lawyers

* Melinda Haag, former US attorney *

Melinda Harmon Melinda Sue (Furche) Harmon (born November 1, 1946 in Port Arthur, Texas) is an inactive Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, best known as the lead judge in the subsequently ...

, US judge *

Melinda Taylor Melinda Taylor is an Australian criminal lawyer who was arrested and detained in Libya in 2012 after being assigned by the International Criminal Court to defend Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of Muammar Gaddafi. Early life and education Taylor ...

, Australian ICC lawyer

Musicians

* Melinda Caroll, American singer * Melinda Doolittle, American singer and ''American Idol'' contestant *

Melinda Kistétényi Melinda Kistétényi (25 July 1926 – 20 October 1999) was a Hungarian classical organist and composer known for improvisations. She was born in Hungary and worked as a professor of music at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music of Budapest for 53 ye ...

, Hungarian organist *

Melinda Maxwell Melinda Maxwell (born 1953 in London) is an English oboist and composer. She is principal oboist of the ensemble Endymion and the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, and a regularly principal of the London Sinfonietta. She has been an academic t ...

, English oboist and composer * Melinda O'Neal, American conductor *

Melinda Schneider Melinda Schneider (born Melinda-Jane Bean; 7 October 1971) is an Australian country music singer and songwriter and radio host. Schneider has been performing since she was three and sang with her mother, the renowned yodelling country artist Mar ...

, Australian Country Singer * Melinda Watts, American singer and musician

Philanthropists

* Melinda Gates, philanthropist and ex-wife of Bill Gates

Politicians

* Malinda Brumfield White (born 1967), American politician * Melinda Bush, Illinois senator * Melinda Katz, New York politician * Melinda MacLean, Canadian politician * Melinda Pavey, Australian politician * Melinda Schwegmann, Louisiana state representative and lieutenant-governor *

Melinda Smyser Melinda S. Smyser (born October 29, 1958) is an American politician who served as a member of the Idaho Senate from 2009 to 2012, representing District 11. Smyser previously served as Director of the Idaho Department of Labor and currently serves ...

, Idaho senator *

Melinda Széky-Sztrémi Melinda Széky-Sztrémi (née ''Sztrémi''; born March 16, 1958) is a Hungarian educator and politician, mayor of Salgótarján from 2006 to 2014 and also member of the National Assembly (MP) for Salgótarján (Nógrád County Nógrád ( hu, N ...

, Hungarian politician

Reporters

* Melinda Murphy, American reporter

Scientists

Melinda Estes Melinda L. Estes is president and CEO of Saint Luke's Health System, based in the bi-state Kansas City-metro area. Estes is a board-certified neurologist and neuropathologist. Prior to joining Saint Luke's Health System in September 2011, she se ...

, American neuropathologist

Sportswomen

Melinda Cooper Melinda "La Maravilla" Cooper (born March 6, 1985, in Las Vegas, Nevada), was the WIBA and IBA Flyweight Champion of the world, and is recognized as one of the elite female professional boxers on the planet. Cooper started boxing in 1996, af ...

, American boxer * Melinda Copp, Canadian swimmer * Melinda Czink, Hungarian tennis player *

Melinda Gainsford-Taylor Melinda Gainsford-Taylor (born 1 October 1971 in Narromine, New South Wales) is a retired Australian athlete, who specialised in sprint events. In 1995 Gainsford-Taylor won the World Indoor championship over 200 m. During her career she al ...

, Australian athlete * Melinda Geiger, Romanian handballer *

Melinda Hale Melinda Ann Rhoads (née Hale; born April 19, 1955) is an American former handball player who played with the United States women's national handball team at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Personal life Rhoads is married to former professional basket ...

, American handball player *

Mélinda Hennaoui Melinda Raissa Hennaoui (born March 18, 1990) is an Algerian female volleyball player. She was part of the Algeria women's national volleyball team The Algeria women's national volleyball team represents Algeria in international voll ...

, Algerian volleyball player *

Melinda Henshaw Melinda Henshaw (born 1 February 1977 in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand) is a New Zealand yachtswoman. She competed for New Zealand at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, with Jenny Egnot Jenny Marie Egnot (born 4 November 1968 in ...

, New Zealand yachtswoman *

Melinda Jacques Melinda Jacques (née Szabó; former Melinda Tóthné Szabó; born 13 October 1971) is a hungarian born French handball player. She played many years for Vasas and the french club Metz. She was born in Karcag Hungary. She competed at the 2004 ...

, French handball player *

Melinda Kunhegyi Melinda Kunhegyi (born December 1, 1965) is a Canadian former competitive pair skater. With her skating partner, Lyndon Johnston, she is the 1981 Prague Skate champion, the 1981 Grand Prix International St. Gervais champion, and a two-time Cana ...

, Canadian figure skater *

Melinda McLeod Melinda McLeod (born 12 February 1993) is an Australian female professional BMX cyclist. Renowned for her jumping ability, she is a six time world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competito ...

, Australian BMX cyclist * Melinda Padovano, American wrestler * Melinda Pastrovics, Hungarian handballer *

Melinda Patyi Melinda Patyi is a Hungarian sprint canoer who has competed since the early 2000s. She won three medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with a two golds (K-2 200 m: 2003, K-4 200 m: 2006) and a silver (K-4 200 m: 2007 File:20 ...

, Hungarian canoeist *

Melinda Sun Melinda Sun (born 23 February 1995) is an Australian badminton player. In 2013, she won the bronze medal at the Oceania Junior Championships in the mixed doubles event partnered with Pit Seng Low. In 2016, she won the silver medal at the Oceani ...

, Australian badminton player *

Melinda Szikora Melinda Szikora (born 19 November 1988) is a Hungarian handball goalkeeper playing for SG BBM Bietigheim. Achievements * Hungarian Championship: **''Gold Medallist'': 2015 * Hungarian Cup: **''Gold Medallist'': 2017 **''Silver Medallist'': 2014 ...

, Hungarian handballer * Melinda Szik, Hungarian weightlifter *

Melinda Szvorda Melinda Szvorda (born 5 August 1980) is a Hungarian football goalkeeper, currently playing for FC Südburgenland in the Austrian Frauenliga. She has been a member of the Hungarian national team.Melinda Vernon Melinda Louise Vernon (born 27 September 1985) is an Australian female deaf track and field athlete, triathlete as well as a swimmer. She competed at the 2009 Summer Deaflympics and in the 2013 Summer Deaflympics representing Australia. Vernon ...

, Australian triathlete * Melinda Vincze, Hungarian handballer *

Melinda Wang Melinda Wang (born December 18, 1990; ) is a Taiwanese-American figure skater who competed internationally for Taiwan in ladies' singles. She is a two-time (2008, 2011) Taiwanese national champion. She competed in the free skate at the 2008 World ...

, Taiwanese figure skater *

Melinda Young Melinda Jane Young (born 28 August 1971) is a wheelchair basketball player from Australia. She was born in Melbourne, Victoria. She was part of the silver medal-winning Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team at the 2004 Summer P ...

, Australia basketball

Writers

Melinda Camber Porter Melinda Camber Porter (18 September 1953 – 9 October 2008)Melinda Camber Porter, 1953 ...

, British author, poet and painter * Melinda Gebbie, American comic author and artist *

Melinda Hammond Melinda Hammond (b. in Bristol, England) is an awarded British writer of romance novels since 1980, she also uses the pseudonym of Sarah Mallory. Biography Melinda Hammond was born in Bristol, England, UK, and grew up on Barton Hill with th ...

, British romance novelist * Melinda Haynes, American novelist * Melinda Hsu Taylor, American TV writer and producer * Malinda Lo, American author *

Melinda Lopez Melinda Lopez is an actress, playwright, and educator from Boston, Massachusetts. She is the first ever playwright-in-residence for the Huntington Theatre Company. She is a professor at Northeastern University. Career As a playwright, Lopez h ...

, American playwright * Melinda Metz, American children's author *

Melinda Nadj Abonji Melinda Nadj Abonji (born 22 June 1968 in Bečej, Yugoslavia) is a Hungarian-Swiss writer, musician, and performance artist. Melinda Nadj Abonji was born in the Hungarian part of Vojvodina, in present-day Serbia. She came to Switzerland at the ag ...

, Hungarian writer and performance artist *

Melinda Rankin Melinda Rankin (March 21, 1811 – December 6/7, 1888) was a 19th-century American Presbyterian missionary, teacher, and writer. Born in New England, she found her life work in Mexico, opening the first Protestant mission in Mexico in 1866. She des ...

(1811–1888), American missionary, teacher, and writer * Melinda Smith, Australian poet *

Melinda M. Snodgrass Melinda M. Snodgrass is a science fiction writer for print and television. In February 2021 Melinda was the Screenwriting Guest of Honor and Keynote Speaker at the 39th annual Life, the Universe, & Everything professional science fiction and fan ...

, American science fiction writer * Melinda Tankard Reist, Australian writer and social campaigner * Melinda Wagner, American composer and Pulitzer Prize winner

Other

* Melinda Loveless, American teenager convicted for her role in the 1992

murder of Shanda Sharer Shanda Renée Sharer (June 6, 1979 – January 11, 1992) was an American girl who was tortured and burned to death in Madison, Indiana by four teenage girls. She was 12 years old at the time of her death. The incident attracted international att ...

In popular culture

In film and television

*'' Melinda (film)'', American film, 1972 *'' Melinda and Melinda'', American film, 2005 * Melinda Gordon,

Jennifer Love Hewitt Jennifer Love Hewitt (born February 21, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Hewitt began her career as a child actress and singer, appearing in national television commercials before joining the cast of the Disney Channel series ''Kids I ...

's character from ''

Ghost Whisperer ''Ghost Whisperer'' is an American supernatural television series, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005, to May 21, 2010. The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon ( Jennifer Love Hewitt), who has the ability to see and communicate with ...

'' *Melinda from '' The Real World: Austin'' * Melinda Warren and

Melinda Halliwell ''Charmed'' is an American television series that was originally broadcast by The WB for eight seasons from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006. The series narrative follows a trio of sisters, known as the Charmed Ones, the most powerful good w ...

, from TV show ''

Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadcast ...

'' *

Melinda Warner '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', a spin-off of the crime drama ''Law & Order'', follows the detectives who work in the "Special Victims Unit" of the 16th Precinct of the New York City Police Department, a unit that focuses on crimes invol ...

, Medical examiner on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' *Melinda Cramer,

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

on ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

'' *Melinda May from ''

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ''Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' is an American television series created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen for ABC, based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and L ...

'' *Melinda, a centaur from the Disney movie '' Fantasia''

In music

*"Sweet Melinda, the peasants call her the Goddess of Gloom" from '' Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues'' by Bob Dylan, 1965 *"I can't stay much longer, Melinda, the sun is getting high." Cumberland Blues. Lyrics by

Robert Hunter Robert Hunter may refer to: Arts * Robert Hunter (painter) (died 1780), Irish portrait painter * Robert Hunter (encyclopædist) (1823–1897), British editor of the ''Encyclopædic Dictionary'' *Robert Hunter (author) (1874–1942), American sociol ...

, performed by the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

. *Melinda, one of the two main characters in the story of

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

progressive death metal band

Opeth Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal/rock band from Stockholm, formed in 1990 by lead vocalist David Isberg. The group has been through several personnel changes, including the replacement of every original member; notably Isberg in 1992. Mikael ...

's 1999 concept album ''

Still Life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...

'', which includes the song "Face of Melinda" *"Sweet Dreams, Melinda" by Trey Anastasio on the album ''

Shine Shine may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Shine'' (film), a 1996 Australian film based on the life of David Helfgott, a pianist * Shine, a fictional character in the American animated TV series ''Shimmer and Shine'' Lite ...

'' *"Sweet Melinda" by

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

on the album ''John Denver'' *" Come Away Melinda", written by Fred Hellerman and Fran Minkoff, and recorded by Harry Belafonte (on the album ''

Streets I Have Walked ''Streets I Have Walked'' is an album by Harry Belafonte, released in 1963. Allmusic entry for ''Streets I Have Walked''Retrieved October 2009. The album contains songs from around the world as well as gospel songs. It reached #30 on the Billboard ...

''),

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...

('' Judy Collins 3''), Theodore Bikel (''A Folksinger's Choice''), Tim Rose (''Tim Rose''), Bobbie Gentry (''

Local Gentry ''Local Gentry'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry. It was released on August 26, 1968, by Capitol Records. The album was produced by Kelly Gordon. Background Following the release of her second studio album, ...

''),

Uriah Heep Uriah Heep may refer to: * Uriah Heep (character), a character in the Charles Dickens novel ''David Copperfield'' *Uriah Heep (band), a British rock band active since 1969 *''Uriah Heep Live ''Uriah Heep Live'' is a double live album by Britis ...

('' ...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble''), Velvett Fogg),

Kenny Rankin Kenneth Joseph Rankin (February 10, 1940 – June 7, 2009) was an American singer and songwriter in the folk rock and singer-songwriter genres; he was influenced by jazz. Rankin would often sing notes in a high range to express emotion. Biogr ...

(''Mind-Dusters''), The Big 3 (''Live at the Recording Studio''), and

L.Stadt L.Stadt is a Polish band, playing rock music with elements of surf rock, country music, country and psychedelic rock. It was founded in Łódź in 2003 and named after the city's name under the Nazi occupation, ''Litzmannstadt''. The band has re ...

. *"Me and My Melinda" by Kay Kyser *"Remember Melinda" by TQ on the album ''

They Never Saw Me Coming ''They Never Saw Me Coming'' is the debut album by TQ released on November 10, 1998 in the United States and May 8, 1999 in the United Kingdom. History Background TQ wrote every word on ''They Never Saw Me Coming'', with production handled by M ...

'' *"Melinda was mine..." from '' Solitary Man'' by

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...

*"Melinda" by

Curved Air Curved Air are an English progressive rock group formed in 1970 by musicians from mixed artistic backgrounds, including classical, folk, and electronic sound. The resulting sound of the band is a mixture of progressive rock, folk rock, and fus ...

, on the album ''Retrospective'' *"Melinda" by

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer S ...

In literature

*Melinda, wife of Bánk in József Katona's legendary historical tragedy '' Bánk bán'' *Melinda ("Lindy") in the book '' The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles'' by

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

Melinda Sordino Melinda "Mel" Sordino (born February 18) is the main character and narrator of Laurie Halse Anderson's 1999 novel '' Speak''. Her last name, Sordino, is an Italian word that can be translated as "deaf." The character's ordeals were based on Ande ...

, main character of the book '' Speak'' (1999) by Laurie Halse Anderson *Melinda, porn star mentioned in the book '' Snow'' by Orhan Pamuk *Melinda, picture book written by

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

and illustrated by Dagmara Matusak

In agriculture

*Melinda (consortium) is a consortium producing apples in Trentino

In geography

Melinda Airport Melinda Airport is an airstrip just east of Hope Creek, a village in the Stann Creek District of Belize. The gravel runway is on the south edge of the Melinda Forest Reserve, and just off the Hummingbird Highway. The Belize VOR-DME In radio ...

, Belize

References

{{given name English feminine given names English given names Feminine given names Hungarian feminine given names