Mela
Feminine
Mela is short, and what it is short for depends on the household. Carmela, Melania, Pamela and Melinda have all produced it, and Polish and Italian families in particular have used it as an everyday name for a century. It is also a word in Sanskrit for a gathering, and in Italian for an apple.
How old is the name Mela?
Mela first appears in US birth records in 1905 — 120 years ago. The typical Mela alive today was born around 2010, making them about 15 years old. About 800 people named Mela are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Mela most popular?
Mela peaked in 1905, reaching #1931 nationally. Today it ranks #4987, 3,056 places below that high. See the whole 1905 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Mela
Long names get clipped in every language, and Mela is what Italian and Polish do to several of them: Carmela becomes Mela, Melania becomes Mela, Amelia can too. Written on a certificate rather than used at the table, the short form becomes a name in its own right, which is what happened in American records around the turn of the twentieth century. The same four letters arrived separately with Indian families, where mela is the word for a festival or fair.
Meaningscholars disagree
Not established
Which parent applies is not recoverable. Carmela comes from Hebrew Karmel, a garden or orchard; Melania from Greek melas, black; Pamela was invented by an English poet in the sixteenth century. Italian mela is an apple and Sanskrit mela is a fair or gathering, and both are real words that some families mean.
Pronouncing Mela
MEH-lah
Two syllables, stress in front, both vowels open. English speakers sometimes say MAY-lah, and both are heard.
Nicknames for Mela
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1905
- Most girls named
- 201955 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1931reached in 1905
- Change vs 2024
- +8.3%26 in 2025, from 24
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Mela in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Carmela in Italian — related form
- Melania in Polish — related form
- Mela in Spanish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Michigan, Florida.
Melas among us
people named Mela are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 61,818 born in 2025 was named Mela
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Mela
- #4987
- Mela on the 2025 chart
- #887
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Mela went to 26 girls in 2025, but Meela, Meelah and Melah are the same name said out loud. Together the 4 spellings went to 73, which makes it the 887th most-given girls’ name of the year — 4,100 places above the chart.
- Mela26
- Meela23
- Meelah14
- Melah10
About 1 girl in 22,017 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 61,818 for Mela itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Mela sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Mela is headed
Mela is easing off slowly — about 23% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Mela beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Mela in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Four letters and two open syllables: easy in Italian, Polish, Spanish and English alike.
- Several longer names stand behind it as formal options.
- It is short and soft, and small children can say it early.
- It reads as a nickname to many people, who will ask what it is short for.
- Mela, Mila and Bella are close enough in American speech to be confused.
- Its meaning depends entirely on which longer name a family has in mind.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Mela to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Mela? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Mela
Feminine · #4987 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Melas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Mela are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Mela?
- Mela is the most-used spelling in US records — 26 of the 73 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Meela, Meelah and Melah.
- How popular is the name Mela in 2025?
- Mela ranks #4987 among US girl names in 2025, with 26 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Mela?
- About 1 in every 61,818 US girls born in 2025 was named Mela — 26 in all.
- Will my child share the name Mela with classmates?
- Mela will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Mela
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Giannina#4987 · Karisma#4987 · Zuleyka#4987 · Mccall#4987 · Makinley#4987 · Jayani#4987 · Embry#4987 · Perri#4987
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Mela? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Mela and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle