# Melanie

Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark". Borne in its Latin form by two saints, Melania the Elder and her granddaughter Melania the Younger, 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 because of 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 1957 and, as Mélanie, it was the 86th most popular name for girls born in France in 2004.

## People named Melanie

* Melanie Amaro (born 1992), American singer
* Melanie Blake, English talent agent and author
* Melanie Blatt (born 1975), English singer and member of All Saints
* Melanie le Brocquy (1919–2018), Irish sculptor
* Melanie Brown (born 1975), English singer and member of Spice Girls
* Melanie L. Campbell, American voting rights activist
* Melanie Chisholm (born 1974), English singer and member of Spice Girls
* Melanie Clewlow (born 1976), English hockey defender
* Melanie Counsell (born 1964), Welsh filmmaker, sculptor, and installation artist
* Melanie Doane (born 1967), Canadian singer
* Melanie Eusebe (born 1977), English author and entrepreneur
* Melanie Fiona (born 1983), Canadian singer
* Melanie Fontana (born 1986), American singer
* Melanie Wade Goodwin (1970–2020), American politician
* Mélanie Gourarier, French social anthropologist
* Melanie Griffith (born 1957), American actress
* Melanie Hall (1970–2004), English murder victim
* Melanie Hall (basketball) (born 1977), Australian basketball player
* Sister Mary Melanie Holliday (1850–1939), American Catholic nun
* Melanie Jans (born 1973), Canadian squash player
* Melanie Johnson (born 1955), English politician
* Melanie Klaffner (born 1990), Austrian tennis player
* Melanie Klein (1882–1960), Austrian–English psychoanalyst
* Melanie Kreis (born 1971), German businesswoman
* Melanie Lambert (born 1974), American adagio and pair skater
* Melanie Leslie (born 1961), dean of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
* Melanie Lynskey (born 1977), New Zealand actress
* Melanie Martinez (actress) (born 1972), American actress
* Melanie Martinez (singer) (born 1995), American singer and songwriter
* Melanie Marquez (born 1964), Filipina beauty queen
* Melanie Mayron (born 1952), American actress
* Melanie McFadyean (1950–2023), English journalist
* Melanie McGuire (born 1972), American nurse and murderer
* Melanie Melanson (born 1974), a missing teenager from Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts since 1989
* Melanie Merkosky (born 1986), Canadian actress
* Melanie Mikoy (born 2000), American soccer player
* Melanie Nolan (born 1960), New Zealand historian
* Melanie Harrison Okoro (born 1982), American environmental scientist
* Melanie Oudin (born 1991), American tennis player
* Melanie Paxson (born 1972), American actress
* Melanie Phillips (born 1951), English author and journalist
* Melanie Safka (1947–2024), American singer-songwriter often credited as just "Melanie"
* Melanie Scrofano, Canadian actress
* Melanie South (born 1986), English tennis player
* Melanie Stabel (born 1999), German sport shooter
* Melanie Stansbury (born 1979), American politician and scientist
* Melanie Stinnett, American politician
* Melanie Thornton (1967–2001), American singer
* Melanie Weisner (born 1986), American professional poker player
* Melanie D. Wilson, American academic administrator and law professor

## People named Mélanie

Mélanie is a feminine French given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Mélanie Bernier (born 1985), French actress
* Mélanie Bonis (1858–1937), French composer
* Mélanie Calvat (1831–1904), French nun
* Mélanie Cohl (born 1982), Belgian singer
* Mélanie Doutey, French actress
* Mélanie Hahnemann (1800–1878), French homeopathic physician
* Mélanie Laurent (born 1983), French actress and director
* Mélanie de Pourtalès (1836–1914), French salonnière and courtier
* Mélanie Turgeon (born 1976), Canadian skier

## Fictional characters

* Melanie Barnett, a character from the television series The Game
* Melanie Bush, a character in the television series Doctor Who
* Melanie Daniels, a character in the film The Birds
* 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 Porter, one of the two leads in the Walt Disney Pictures film College Road Trip played by Raven-Symoné
* Melanie Marcus, a character in the television series Queer as Folk
* Melanie Puckett, twin sister of Sam Puckett in the TV series iCarly
* Melanie Stryder, a character from the book The Host by Stephenie Meyer
* Melanie Walker, a character from Batman Beyond