Melinda
2025 SSA
Below 5 births
About Melinda
In the eighteenth century there was a poetic fad for names with the 'inda' sound, and, along with Belinda, Clarinda, Dorinda and Florinda, Melinda was one of those created at that time. It came into non-literary use in the 1840's, peaking in the U.S. in the late 1960s and 1970s: Melinda was a Top 100 name from 1967 to 1980. It began to fade as nickname Mindy ascended. Nowadays, however, Melinda feels more contemporary than cousins Melissa, Mindy, Belinda and Linda.
Melinda is a name fashioned from two common elements in girls' names. Mel means honey or honeybee, or alternatively dark, and is found as an element in such names as Melissa and Pamela. Linda means beautiful.
Melinda was the name of the lead character played by Jennifer Love Hewitt in Ghost Whisperer; her most prominent modern bearer is philanthropist Melinda Gates. If you don't like the nickname Mindy, you could go with Mel, Lin, or Lindy.
Melinda is also given to boys.
Pronounced muh-LIN-duh.
As of October 2026, Melinda ranked #1985 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #72 in 1973, Nameberry popularity #674.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · girls | Births · girls | US rank · boys | Births · boys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #1,397 | 165 | — | 0 |
| 2015 | #1,364 | 174 | — | 0 |
| 2016 | #1,597 | 139 | — | 0 |
| 2017 | #1,651 | 131 | — | 0 |
| 2018 | #1,722 | 120 | — | 0 |
| 2019 | #1,984 | 98 | — | 0 |
| 2020 | #1,856 | 105 | — | 0 |
| 2021 | #2,064 | 93 | — | 0 |
| 2022 | #2,264 | 83 | — | 0 |
| 2023 | #2,115 | 91 | — | 0 |
| 2024 | #2,104 | 91 | — | 0 |
| 2025 | #1,985 | 97 | — | 0 |
World rankings
Melinda for girls
Similar names
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Melinda on lists
Famous Melindas
- Melinda Leanna ShankarGirl
Canadian actress
- Melinda Ann French GatesGirl
American philanthropist, wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates
- Melinda Patrice "Mindy" ClarkeGirl
American actress
- Melinda Rose DillonGirl
American actress
- Melinda Rosalie KinnamanGirl
Swedish actress
- Melinda CzinkGirl
Hungarian tennis player
- Melinda GebbieGirl
American comics artist
- Melinda HillGirl
American comedienne/actress
- Melinda SchwegmannGirl
American politician, 49th lieutenant governor of Louisiana
- MelindaJ "Mindy" BarbieriGirl
Australian soccer player
- (Melinda) Wrenn SchmidtGirl
American actress
Melinda in pop culture
- Melinda GordonGirl
character on TV's "Ghost Whisperer"
- Dr. Melinda WarnerGirl
character on TV's "Law & Order"
- Melinda SordinoGirl
main character in "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
- Melinda WarrenGirl
character on TV's "Charmed"
- Melinda HalliwellGirl
Piper and Leo's daughter on TV's "Charmed"
- Melinda MickensGirl
character on TV's "True Blood"
- Melinda FinsterGirl
Chuckie's deceased mother on animated series "Rugrats"
- Melinda MayGirl
a character on TV's "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D"
- Melinda "Mel" MonroeGirl
character on TV's "Virgin River"