Meaning & origin
A reliable meaning for Mell isn’t established in our sources yet. Rather than guess, we show what is recorded: how the name is used, how often, and the names it’s connected to.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1881. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Mell through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 544
- 342 boys · 202 girls
- Most popular year
- 1918
- 25 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 7 in 2004. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 12 in 1918. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 371 as a first name in 2020; 1,734 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Mell
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Mell, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Myer
“a large man” · “a farmer”
85% boys · 15% girls
Merrill
“of the shining sea”
51% boys · 49% girls
Meyer
“giving light” · “a large man”
85% boys · 15% girls
Marvel
“an extraordinary woman” · “an extraordinary man”
48% boys · 52% girls
Merlin
Merlin is used as a given name and a surname. One Welsh interpretation is “of the sea fortress; in Arthurian legend, the wizard and mentor of King Arthur.”
82% boys · 18% girls
Murray
“the lord of the sea”
86% boys · 14% girls
Jess
“The Lord sees all” · “gift”
80% boys · 20% girls
Sumner
“a legal official; one who serves summons”
82% boys · 18% girls