How Many People Are Named Melville?
An estimated 489 people in the United States have the first name Melville. It is predominantly male (99.4%). The average bearer is 75 years old, and Melville peaked in popularity in 1918 with 77 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Melville as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Melville paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- With an average bearer age of 75, Melville is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1961.
Estimated Living Americans
489
About 1 in 700,929 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
99.4% confidence
Average Age
75
years old
Peak Year
1918
77 births
Total Registered
2,283
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Melville
Melville is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 2,283 total births registered, 99.4% were male.
Melville as a male name
Ranked #6,928 in 1981
5 male births in 1981
Peak: 1918 (77 births)
Melville as a female name
Ranked #4,305 in 1921
7 female births in 1921
Peak: 1920 (7 births)
Melville: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Melville span from the 1880s to the 1980s, covering 11 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 540 babies were registered. Melville has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Melville by Decade
How has Melville tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Melville by State
Birth registrations for Melville span all 10 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, California, Illinois. The lowest are in Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. On average, about 38 Melvilles were registered per state.
Melville + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Melville as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Melville
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
Melville: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Melville?
We estimate approximately 489 people named Melville are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 700,929 Americans share this first name.
Is Melville a common name?
Melville is classified as "Very Rare" and is more popular than 84.3% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 2,283 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Melville most popular?
Melville reached peak popularity in 1918, when 77 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Melville is approximately 75 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Melville a male name?
Melville is predominantly male. 99.4% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Melville Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Melville Smith, Melville Johnson, Melville Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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