Melville
Melville is a surname and a given name.
- English
Meaning & Origin of Melville
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Melville is a surname and a given name.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- English
The Story of Melville
American parents first put Melville on the record books as a baby boy name in 1880, with 17 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 1918, when 77 Melvilles were born — ranking #728 that year. The 1920s were its strongest decade, accounting for roughly 23% of all recorded Melvilles. Its most recent appearance in the national data came in 1981 (5 births); the name has since faded from the published rankings. In total, more than 2K Melvilles have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Melville
Phonetically similar names — useful when Melville is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Melville
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About the name Melville
Melville is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 2K births in the dataset. Melville's peak popularity came in 1918 when it ranked #728. Use the chart and map above to compare Melville's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1918 →
- Names of the 1910s →
- Names starting with "M" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
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.