Mel

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Mel: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Mel: Recorded since 1964, its highest recorded position is #129, and it stood at #885 in 2025.

2registrars recorded it
42times a registrar ranked it
62years from first to last
#129highest recorded position
5groupings it qualifies for

Region

Rising

among girls in England and Wales · 2008–2022

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
2008	#4524
2018	#5666
2019	#4001
2022	#3148

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

RisingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Republic of Ireland in 3 of the 50 years from 1976 to 2025.

In 2004: #439 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #3009 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1964–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1964
First recorded at #129 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1964 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Highest recorded1964–2012
Highest recorded position: #129 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 1964 (recorded 1964–2012).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #885 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Girls

Mel appears in 4 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Boys, which has ranked it in 33 years beginning in 1964, and has registered 190 births with the name.

Mel across 4 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Mel's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#497 (1976)	#497 (1976)	#885 (2025)	3 of 50	10 (1976–2025)	4 (2024)
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#129 (1964)	#129 (1964)	#616 (2012)	33 of 49	190 (1964–2012)	16 (1964)
England and Wales · Girls	#4524 (2008)	#3148 (2022)	#3148 (2022)	4 of 15	19 (2008–2022)	7 (2022)
England and Wales · Boys	#2859 (1997)	#2859 (1997)	#3009 (2004)	2 of 8	7 (1997–2004)	4 (2004)

Mel by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Mel in Republic of Ireland · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960sbusiest	66	6 of 10	11
1970s	54	8 of 10	7
1980s	24	6 of 10	4
1990s	25	7 of 10	4
2000s	17	5 of 10	3
2010s	4	1 of 10	4

Across Republic of Ireland · Boys, the 1960s were its busiest decade — the 6 years of it this list covers, averaging 11 births a year.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Mel appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1964 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #129 in Republic of Ireland in 1964.

Mel's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2022	England and Wales	female	#3148	7	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#4001	5	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#5666	3	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#4524	4	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#3009	4	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#2859	3	High	Verified
2025	Republic of Ireland	female	#885	3	High	Verified
2024	Republic of Ireland	female	#736	4	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	male	#616	4	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	male	#701	3	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	male	#698	3	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	male	#629	3	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	male	#493	4	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	male	#439	4	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	male	#290	5	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	male	#382	3	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	male	#295	5	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	male	#342	3	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	male	#339	3	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	male	#337	3	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	male	#324	3	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	male	#307	3	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	male	#283	4	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	male	#330	3	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	male	#286	4	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	male	#260	5	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	male	#264	5	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	male	#218	9	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	male	#255	5	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	female	#497	3	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	male	#236	7	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	male	#321	3	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	male	#227	8	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	male	#238	6	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	male	#217	8	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	male	#206	8	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	male	#187	10	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	male	#197	7	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	male	#156	12	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	male	#139	14	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	male	#181	7	High	Verified
1964	Republic of Ireland	male	#129	16	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 2 registrars between 1964 and 2025, ranked in 39 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #129, first reached in 1964.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 16 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 1964.

Its record falls into 13 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 5 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1997, and 33 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Meisha · #546, 23y
Meja · #894, 13y
Mela · #2488, 13y
Melani · #868, 13y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 2 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Siobhain · #128, 39y
Alida · #127, 35y
Daren · #126, 39y
Darran · #132, 35y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1960 and 1969.

Emmett · #129, 61y
Nial · #129, 47y
Przemyslaw · #129, 42y
Siobhain · #128, 39y

Mel was ranked #129 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 1964. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Mel and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Mel without appearing here.

Mel moved ahead of

Kenneth Compare
In 2011 they stood at #701 and #292 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2012 that had become #616 and #718.
Ronald Compare
In 2011 they stood at #629 and #527 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2012 that had become #616 and #718.

Moved ahead of Mel

Daithi Compare
In 2003 they stood at #290 and #330 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2004 that had become #439 and #233.
Archie Compare
In 2005 they stood at #439 and #506 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2006 that had become #493 and #334.
Lucas Compare
In 1996 they stood at #295 and #336 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 1997 that had become #382 and #242.
Shea Compare
In 1996 they stood at #295 and #369 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 1997 that had become #382 and #251.

Moved the opposite way to Mel

Alexander Compare
Between 1964 and 2012 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Mel went from #129 to #616 while Alexander went from #116 to #54.
Benjamin Compare
Between 1964 and 2012 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Mel went from #129 to #616 while Benjamin went from #139 to #68.
Conor Compare
Between 1964 and 2012 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Mel went from #129 to #616 while Conor went from #56 to #5.
Daniel Compare
Between 1964 and 2012 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Mel went from #129 to #616 while Daniel went from #19 to #3.

Moved the same way as Mel

Adrian Compare
Between 1964 and 2012 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Mel went from #129 to #616 and Adrian from #65 to #127.
Alan Compare
Between 1964 and 2012 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Mel went from #129 to #616 and Alan from #29 to #72.
Alfred Compare
Between 1964 and 2012 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Mel went from #129 to #616 and Alfred from #134 to #401.
Andrew Compare
Between 1964 and 2012 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Mel went from #129 to #616 and Andrew from #34 to #60.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1964 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #129 in Republic of Ireland in 1964. Source data last verified 2026-07-25.

Mel

Mel at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Mel across 4 official records

Mel by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Mel appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Mel

Mel and the names beside it

Mel moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Mel

Moved the opposite way to Mel

Moved the same way as Mel

Mel at a glance

Mel across 4 official records

Mel by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Mel appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Mel

Mel and the names beside it

Mel moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Mel

Moved the opposite way to Mel

Moved the same way as Mel