Melida
Feminine
Melida could be a longer name with a syllable removed or an independent Spanish-language build, and the record does not choose. The English verb its front approaches is a rare case of two words arriving separately and being mistaken for one.
How old is the name Melida?
Melida first appears in US birth records in 1917 — 108 years ago. The typical Melida alive today was born around 1980, making them about 45 years old. About 600 people named Melida are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Melida most popular?
Melida peaked in 1933, reaching #2868 nationally. See the whole 1933 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Melida
To meld looks like one word and is probably two. The older one is a card-playing term, from German melden, to announce — in pinochle and rummy you meld by laying down a combination and declaring it, and the word arrived in American English with German immigrants in the nineteenth century. The other sense, meaning to merge or blend, turns up in the twentieth century and looks very much like a blend of melt and weld, made by English speakers who had no idea the card term existed. Dictionaries hedge: some treat them as one word whose sense extended, others as a coincidence. The second is the commoner sense now, and it is the one that sounds oldest, which is usually a sign that a word has been reinvented rather than inherited.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Melinda with its middle removed is the likeliest single account, but the name appears mostly in Spanish-language records, where builds of this shape were produced in quantity. Nothing documents either reading, and the two lead to different places.
Pronouncing Melida
meh-LEE-dah
Three syllables with the stress in the middle, which is where Spanish puts it. English speakers sometimes say MELL-id-uh with front stress instead.
Nicknames for Melida
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
- 1917
- Most girls named
- 197615 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2868reached in 1933
- Change vs 2022
- +100.0%10 in 2024, from 5
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.
Melidas among us
people named Melida are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Melida sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Both halves detach as short forms and neither sounds like the other.
- Middle stress on three syllables is the easiest rhythm English offers.
- It reads correctly on sight in Spanish and needs no explanation there.
- Melinda, Merida and Melita will all be written for it.
- Stress placement differs between English and Spanish speakers.
- Nothing records its origin, so the meaning question has two answers and no evidence.
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Melida
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Melidas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Melida are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Melida in 2025?
- Melida is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Melida with classmates?
- Melida will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More M names
The most-given names starting with M, all years combined.
Mary#125 · Margaret#112 · Michelle#465 · Melissa#419 · Maria#87 · Martha#712 · Marie#617 · Mildred#1962
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Melida? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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