Boys' name · peaked in 1928
Melvin name popularity since 1925
200,056 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Melvin (0.8% girls, 99.2% boys). Half of them were born in 1950 or earlier, so the typical Melvin is about 76 years old in 2026. Melvin peaked in 1928 as the #48 name for boys, and it ranked #959 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 200,056
- Named Melvin, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1928
- #48 for boys that year
- In 2025
- #959
- for boys in 2025 (243 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.2% boys
- 1,676 girls · 198,380 boys
- Most popular in
- Hawaii
- 2.62× its national share
Peak year is the year Melvin made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Melvin births per year, 1925–2025
1928 was the biggest year for Melvin both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Steepest fall: Between 2006 and 2011, Melvin's share of baby boys fell by 37%, from 1 in 3,050 to 1 in 4,870.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Melvin's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Melvin.
Decade by decade
Babies named Melvin in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 212 | 20,891 | – |
| 1930s | 324 | 37,705 | #57 |
| 1940s | 308 | 39,236 | #78 |
| 1950s | 290 | 36,165 | #95 |
| 1960s | 242 | 23,093 | #138 |
| 1970s | 178 | 13,126 | #187 |
| 1980s | 109 | 9,431 | #249 |
| 1990s | 13 | 6,983 | #365 |
| 2000s | 0 | 6,296 | #424 |
| 2010s | 0 | 3,705 | #690 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 1,749 | #959 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
35.0% of babies named Melvin from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Melvin is most popular
The index compares Melvin's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Melvin.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 2.62× | 1,622 |
| District of Columbia | 2.46× | 2,248 |
| Mississippi | 2.46× | 5,915 |
| Louisiana | 2.09× | 7,441 |
| South Carolina | 1.84× | 5,111 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Melvin and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Melvin (this page) | 198,380 | 1928 |
| Melvyn | 4,042 | 1938 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Melvin's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Melvin.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Melvin (1928).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data