- Melanie
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This article is about the given name. For other uses, see Melanie (disambiguation).
Melanie Pronunciation English: /ˈmɛləni/ mel-ə-nee, German: [ˈmɛlaniː] Gender Female Origin Word/Name Greek Meaning Black, dark Other names Related names Mel, Mélanie, Melani, Milani 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 grand-daughter 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 filmation, 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 - was the 86th most popular name for girls born in France in 2004.[4] In Australia Melanie is typically pronounced with the second syllable stressed.
Notable namesakes include:
- Melanie Blatt (born 1975), British singer and member of All Saints
- 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 field 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 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 psychoanalist
- Melanie Lambert (born 1974), American professional adagio and pair skater.
- Melanie Lofton (born 1980), American journalist
- Melanie Lynskey (born 1977), New Zealand actress
- Melanie Martinez (born 1972), American television and stage actress
- Melanie Mayron (born 1952), American actress
- Melanie Merkosky (born 1986), Canadian actress
- Melanie Oudin (born 1991), American tennis player
- Melanie Phillips (born 1951), British journalist
- Melanie Safka (born 1947), American songwriter usually known simply as Melanie
- Melanie South (born 1986), British tennis player
- Melanie Thornton (1967–2001), American pop singer
Notable fictional namesakes include:
- Melanie Marcus, from Queer as Folk
- Melanie Hamilton, from Gone with the Wind
- Melanie Stryder, a character in the novel The Host
- Melanie Isaacs, from Disgrace
- Melanie Barnett, played by actress Tia Mowry on the CW/BET comedy-drama series, The Game
- Melanie Layton Kiriakis, a minor character on the American soap opera Days of our Lives
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
- ^ Behind the Name
- ^ Behind the Name, ibid.
Categories:- English feminine given names
- Given names of Greek language origin
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