Mel vs Melba
American parents have registered 34,925 Melbas since 1880, against 4,201 Mels. But in 2025 it was Mel that was commoner, 27 babies to 7.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Mel Melba
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 133 years in which either name was published, Melba for 103 years and Mel for 30 years. The lead changed hands 7 times.
Side by side
| Mel | Melba | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 4,201 | 34,925 |
| Most in one year | 132 | 1,003 |
| Babies in 2025 | 27 | 7 |
| Estimated living today | 2,700 | 11,000 |
| Median age today | 62 | 75 |
| Peak year | 1958 | 1924 |
| Best rank | 688th boys | 202nd girls |
| Rank in 2025 | 7,194th | 11,932nd |
| First recorded | 1902 | 1893 |
| Girls / boys | 508 / 3,693 | 34,873 / 52 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Melbas alive today are over 75; half the Mels are over 62. That is 13 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Mel California (3.7×), New York (3.2×), Illinois (2.6×)
- Melba Arkansas (5.5×), Oklahoma (4.1×), Louisiana (3.2×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Mel and Melba.