Given name & surname
Melly
“a dark-skinned beauty”·“a woman with great strength and determination”
Melly is a variant of Melanie. One Greek interpretation is “a dark-skinned beauty.” Melly is a variant of Millicent. One French interpretation is “a woman with great strength and determination.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Melly is a variant of Melanie. One Greek interpretation is “a dark-skinned beauty.” Melly is a variant of Millicent. One French interpretation is “a woman with great strength and determination.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Melly is a variant of Melissa. An origin associated with Melissa is Greek. Melly is a variant of Melanie. Melanie has been associated with Old French, Latin, and Greek naming traditions. Melly is a variant of Millicent. An origin associated with Millicent is Germanic.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1997. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Melly is a variant of Melissa. The history of Melissa gives this family its wider story. In Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso, Melissa is the benevolent witch who frees Rogero from Alcina. Separately, Melissa has also been used in Ireland as an English form of Maoilíosa; the two contexts should not be collapsed into one origin.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Melly through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 72
- 0 boys · 72 girls
- Most popular year
- 2021
- 11 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #16,472 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +100%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 16,472 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 482 as a first name in 2020; 295 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.
Melly’s family of names
Melly has a related form in Melissa. Melly has a related form in Melanie. Melly has a related form in Millicent.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.