Melanie
| Pronunciation | /ˈmɛləni/ MEL-ə-nee, German: [ˈmɛlaniː] |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| Name day | December 31 |
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Greek |
| Meaning | Black, dark |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Mel, Mélanie, Melani, Melany, Milani, Melania |
Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness"[1] and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".[2] Borne in its Latin form by two saints: Melania the Elder and her granddaughter Melania the Younger,[3] the name was introduced to England by the Normans in its French form Melanie. However the name only became common in English usage in the 1930s due to the popularity of Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and its 1939 film adaptation, as one of the novel's main characters was named Melanie Hamilton. The name's popularity increased until the 1970s, since remaining constant. Melanie was the 80th most popular name for girls born in the United States in 2007 and, as Mélanie, it was the 86th most popular name for girls born in France in 2004.[3]
Notable people
- Melanie Blatt (born 1975), British singer, member of All Saints
- Melanie le Brocquy (born 1919), Irish sculptor
- Melanie Brown (born 1975), British singer and member of the Spice Girls
- Melanie Chisholm (born 1974), British singer and member of the Spice Girls
- Melanie Clewlow (born 1976), English hockey defender
- Melanie Doane (born 1967), Canadian singer
- Melanie Fiona (born 1983), Canadian singer
- Melanie Griffith (born 1957), American actress
- Melanie Hahnemann (1800–1878), homeopath
- Melanie Hall (1970-1996), English murder victim
- Melanie Jans (born 1973), Canadian squash player
- Melanie Johnson (born 1955), British politician
- Melanie Klaffner (born 1990), Austrian tennis player
- Melanie Klein (1882–1960), Austrian-born British psychoanalyst
- Melanie Kreis (born 1971), German businesswoman
- Melanie Lambert (born 1974), American adagio and pair skater
- Melanie Leslie, dean of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
- Melanie Lynskey (born 1977), New Zealand actress
- Melanie Martinez (born 1972), American actress
- Melanie Martinez (singer) (born 1995), American singer-songwriter
- Melanie Mayron (born 1952), American actress
- Melanie McGuire (born 1972), American criminal who murdered her husband, dismembered his body and put it into suitcases
- Melanie Merkosky (born 1986), Canadian actress
- Melanie Nolan (born 1960), New Zealand historian
- Melanie Phillips (born 1951), British journalist
- Mélanie de Pourtalès (1836-1914), French salonniére and courtier
- Melanie (born 1947), American singer/songwriter born Melanie Anne Safka
- Melanie South (born 1986), British tennis player
- Melanie Stabel (born 1999), German sport shooter
- Melanie Thornton (1967–2001), American pop singer
Fictional characters
- Melanie Marcus, a character in the television series Queer as Folk
- Melanie Hamilton, a character in the novel Gone with the Wind
- Melanie Jonas, a former character on the American soap opera Days of Our Lives
- Melanie Bush, a character in the television series Doctor Who
- Melanie Stryder, a character from the book The Host by Stephenie Meyer
- Melanie Barnett, a character from the television series The Game
- Melanie Daniels, a character from the Alfred Hitchcock film The Birds
- Melanie Walker, a character from Batman Beyond
See also
References
- ^ Melania, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon at Perseus project
- ^ Melas, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon at Perseus project
- ^ a b Behind the Name
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