Given name
Melinda
“one who is sweet and gentle”
Melinda is used as a given name. One Latin interpretation is “one who is sweet and gentle.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “one who is sweet and gentle.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Latin.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Melinda through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 136,159
- 337 boys · 135,822 girls
- Most popular year
- 1970
- 4,236 babies
- 2025
- 97
- #1,985 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −23%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 97 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,985 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 23.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 4,225 in 1970. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (16). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 118,796 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Melinda’s family of names
In English usage, Melinda has a diminutive in Mindy. In English usage, Melinda has a related form in Malinda. In English usage, Melinda has a related form in Malinda.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 15
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 3
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Melinda
- Melinda French GatesAmerican philanthropistborn 1964
- Melinda DillonAmerican actress (1939–2023)
- Melinda ClarkeAmerican actressborn 1969
- Melinda CzinkHungarian tennis playerborn 1982
- Melinda KinnamanSwedish-American actressborn 1971
- Melinda CuleaAmerican actress and writerborn 1955
- Melinda McGrawAmerican actressborn 1963
- Melinda Nadj AbonjiSwiss musician, artist and writerborn 1968
- Melinda Page HamiltonAmerican actress (born 1974)
Characters named Melinda: Melinda May (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. character), Melinda Gordon (the television series Ghost Whisperer), Melinda Warner (fictional human).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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