Melani
Feminine · “black”
Melani is the Spanish-facing spelling of a name the Romans already knew: Melania, borne by two Christian noblewomen of the fourth and fifth centuries who gave away enormous fortunes. It traveled through French Mélanie into English, and shed its final -e as it moved through Spanish-speaking households. Three syllables that can land two ways — MEL-uh-nee, or the softer meh-LAH-nee — and both are correct.
How old is the name Melani?
Melani first appears in US birth records in 1947 — 78 years ago. The typical Melani alive today was born around 2009, making them about 16 years old. About 5,800 people named Melani are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Melani most popular?
Melani peaked in 2020, reaching #989 nationally. Today it ranks #1053, 64 places below that high. See the whole 2020 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Melania to Melani
The story of Melani
The Greek adjective melas, 'black', gave Latin the name Melania, carried in late antiquity by two Roman women of the same family — Melania the Elder and Melania the Younger — both later venerated as saints. Medieval France reshaped it as Mélanie, and English speakers borrowed that form, giving it a real lift after Margaret Mitchell named the gentle Melanie Hamilton in her 1936 novel. Melani is the trimmed spelling that fits Spanish orthography, where a final -ie sits awkwardly, and it is in Texas, California and Florida that it turns up most.
Meaning
black, dark
From Greek melas, melaina, 'black' or 'dark' — the same root behind melanin. Latin Melania grew from it.
How the name formed
- Melania
- Mélanie
- Melanie
- Melani
Related forms: Mélanie · Melanie · Melania · Melania · Melanie · Melania
Pronouncing Melani
MEL-uh-nee
Spanish-speaking families usually say meh-LAH-nee, with the stress in the middle and a fuller second vowel. Both readings belong to the name; it is worth deciding early which one your family will use, since either will be assumed by strangers.
Nicknames for Melani
High
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
- 1947
- Most girls named
- 2020258 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #989reached in 2020
- Change vs 2023
- +3.1%234 in 2025, from 227
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.
Melani in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Mélanie in French — same name
- Melanie in English — spelling variant
- Melania in Italian — same name
- Melania in Spanish — same name
- Melanie in German — spelling variant
- Melania in Polish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.
Melanis among us
people named Melani are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 6,869 born in 2025 was named Melani
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Melani
- #1053
- Melani on the 2025 chart
- #302
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Melani went to 234 girls in 2025, but Melany and Melanny are the same name said out loud. Together the 4 spellings went to 1,045, which makes it the 302nd most-given girls’ name of the year — 751 places above the chart.
and 1 rarer spelling.
About 1 girl in 1,538 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 6,869 for Melani 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
The Keila test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Melani's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Keila climbed just as high around 2001, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Keila's path sketches the road Melani is walking now.
Melani 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 Melani is headed
Melani should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
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.
Melani beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Melani in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Recognizable everywhere in English through Melanie, so no one has to be told what the name is — only how it is spelled.
- Works cleanly in both English and Spanish, which is rarer than it sounds for a three-syllable name.
- A documented line running from late-Roman Melania through French Mélanie, unbroken for well over a thousand years.
- Short forms already established by long use: Mel, Lani, Mela — nothing has to be invented.
- Melanie is the default spelling in English, so Melani will be corrected, autocorrected and re-added to forms fairly often. A short, calm way of saying it — 'Melani, no e' — is worth having ready.
- The two pronunciations coexist. Expect people to guess wrong roughly half the time until they are told, especially when the name is read before it is heard.
- The meaning is 'dark' or 'black'. Some parents like the plainness of that; others find it unexpected for a name that sounds as light as this one.
- A child with this spelling is unlikely to share it with a classmate, though she may well meet a Melanie.
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What they receive
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Melani
Feminine · #1053 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Melanis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 5,800 people named Melani are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Melani?
- Melani is one of 3 recorded spellings. Melany is the more common one — 779 births in 2025 against 234 for Melani.
- How popular is the name Melani in 2025?
- Melani ranks #1053 among US girl names in 2025, with 234 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Melani?
- About 1 in every 6,869 US girls born in 2025 was named Melani — 234 in all.
- Will my child share the name Melani with classmates?
- Melani will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Melani
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Jubilee#1053 · Kai#1053 · Maelynn#1053 · Araya#1052 · Jazlynn#1057 · Sapphire#1057 · Harlee#1047 · Inara#1047
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Melani? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Melani and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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