Girl · #6,646 in 2026

Mela

Name: Popularity of the name Mela in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Mela, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

Mela is a Sanskrit word meaning "gathering" or "to meet" or a "fair". It is used in the Indian subcontinent for all sizes of gatherings and can be religious, commercial, cultural or sport-related. In rural traditions melas or village fairs were of great importance.

Current Rank

#6,646

Peak Rank

#1,931 (2019)

Total Babies

5-Yr Trend

-43%

1905

First Year

2026

Last Year

2019

Peak Year

#1931

Peak Rank

Total Count

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Mela

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

The Story of Mela

Mela first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1905, with 5 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 2019, when 55 Melas were born — ranking #2,961 that year. As of 2026, Mela ranks #6,646 for baby girls with 17 births, falling sharply (-43%). In total, more than 1K Melas have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1900s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Names that sound like Mela

Phonetically similar names — useful when Mela is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Mella
Milla
Mullah
Mulla
Milah
Mellow
Moolah
Melo
Mello
Moola
Mila
Mala

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Mela

What does the name Mela mean?

How popular is Mela in 2026?

In 2026, Mela ranks #6,646 among girls' names in the U.S., with 17 babies given the name that year.

When was Mela most popular?

Mela reached its peak popularity in 2019, ranking #1,931 that year with 55 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Mela most popular?

Mela has historically been most popular in New Mexico, Michigan, New York. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Mela.

Is Mela a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Mela is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.

What names go well with Mela?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Mela include Artee, Elah, Mintha. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Mela

Mela is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1905 and has accumulated 1K births in the dataset. Mela's peak popularity came in 2019 when it ranked #1,931. Use the chart and map above to compare Mela's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.