A LITTLE UNCOMMON. ENTIRELY YOURS.
Meaning, origin and pronunciation, with published usage by place and year.
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Meaning not settled; several interpretations are recorded.
GfdS discusses possible French-name links and Greek honey, ash-wood and Melos associations. These possibilities are kept distinct from the documented Italian Carmela short-form use; no universal gloss is selected.
Several name histories: French and Greek accounts, plus Italian short-form use.
The linguistic society discusses alternative explanations rather than one settled derivation. The licensed Latin label remains retained for review.
/mɛˈliːnə/
US English dictionary reading of this exact spelling. CMUdict does not identify an individual bearer or a particular name tradition; other readings may be preferred. Adapted from ARPABET to broad IPA and an approximate reading guide. Original ARPABET: M EH0 L IY1 N AH0.
Recorded English reading, as published. Accents and preferred pronunciations can differ.
Counts apply only to the exact spelling, place, year and recorded usage shown. Places are separate; these figures are never added into a worldwide total. Missing or suppressed records never mean zero.
| Place | Year | Recorded usage | Published births | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 2025 | Girls | 55 · preliminary | 549 | 2025 figures are preliminary. Quebec counts below five are randomly imputed by the publisher before national aggregation. Accents are removed in the source; this profile was matched only where the catalog spelling was unambiguous. Unpublished values are unknown, not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| France | 2025 | Girls | 80 (rounded to 5) | 553 | Counts are rounded to the nearest multiple of five. Ranks use unrounded publisher counts with randomly ordered ties; equally rounded counts can have different ranks. National coverage excludes Mayotte before 2012. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Automated direction labels are withheld for this rounded-count series. Rank basis: source published. |
| England & Wales | 2025 | Girls | 51 | 719 | Published ranks differ from ranks calculated over visible rows. Counts retained; automated trend labels withheld. Rank basis: source published. |
| Scotland | 2025 | Girls | 3 | 780 | Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| Ireland | 2025 | Girls | 3 | 885 | Names below three occurrences are unpublished. Accent recording changed in 2018; comparisons across that boundary may not describe the same spelling coverage. Counts refer to registrations in the year. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| United States | 2025 | Girls | 434 | 660 | Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: calculated from published counts. |
Canada, Ireland and France coverage includes confidently matched existing profiles only; unmatched spellings are awaiting review. French counts are rounded to five.
Open an entry for its source, credit, licence and full qualifications. Different name traditions remain separate.
Checked against cited source
The source records Italian given-name use as a short form. The existing US English dictionary pronunciation remains distinct. Credit: Frauke Rüdebusch / Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache. Original factual summary by Rare Baby Names; source rights retained. No source prose passages, images or audio reproduced.
Source rights retained; original factual summary by Rare Baby Names
Checked against cited source
GfdS discusses possible French-name links and Greek honey, ash-wood and Melos associations. These possibilities are kept distinct from the documented Italian Carmela short-form use; no universal gloss is selected. Credit: Frauke Rüdebusch / Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache. Original factual summary by Rare Baby Names; source rights retained. No source prose passages, images or audio reproduced.
Source rights retained; original factual summary by Rare Baby Names
Checked against cited source
GfdS explicitly documents Italian short-form use. This does not select an origin for every Melina or transfer a pronunciation. Credit: Frauke Rüdebusch / Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache. Original factual summary by Rare Baby Names; source rights retained. No source prose passages, images or audio reproduced.
Source rights retained; original factual summary by Rare Baby Names
Checked against cited source
The linguistic society discusses alternative explanations rather than one settled derivation. The licensed Latin label remains retained for review. Credit: Frauke Rüdebusch / Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache. Original factual summary by Rare Baby Names; source rights retained. No source prose passages, images or audio reproduced.
Source rights retained; original factual summary by Rare Baby Names
Checked against cited source
US English dictionary reading of this exact spelling. CMUdict does not identify an individual bearer or a particular name tradition; other readings may be preferred. Adapted from ARPABET to broad IPA and an approximate reading guide. Original ARPABET: M EH0 L IY1 N AH0.
Credit: Carnegie Mellon University and CMUdict contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: selected exact-spelling dictionary readings converted from ARPABET to broad IPA, with qualified syllable counts. CMUdict does not identify a bearer’s preferred pronunciation or name tradition.
Copyright (C) 1993-2015 Carnegie Mellon University. All rights reserved. Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. The contents of this file are deemed to be source code. 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. This work was supported in part by funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Office of Naval Research and the National Science Foundation of the United States of America, and by member companies of the Carnegie Mellon Sphinx Speech Consortium. We acknowledge the contributions of many volunteers to the expansion and improvement of this dictionary. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY NOR ITS EMPLOYEES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
CMUdict BSD-style license
Checked against cited source
The source provides several possibilities and documented Italian short-form use. The licensed Canary yellow gloss is retained as a candidate; this source does not corroborate it. Credit: Frauke Rüdebusch / Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache. Original factual summary by Rare Baby Names; source rights retained. No source prose passages, images or audio reproduced.
Source rights retained; original factual summary by Rare Baby Names
Checked against cited source
Editorial count of vowel phonemes in the reviewed CMUdict reading. Applies to that reading only; different languages, accents or preferred pronunciations can differ. Original ARPABET: M EH0 L IY1 N AH0.
Credit: Carnegie Mellon University and CMUdict contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: selected exact-spelling dictionary readings converted from ARPABET to broad IPA, with qualified syllable counts. CMUdict does not identify a bearer’s preferred pronunciation or name tradition.
Copyright (C) 1993-2015 Carnegie Mellon University. All rights reserved. Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. The contents of this file are deemed to be source code. 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. This work was supported in part by funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Office of Naval Research and the National Science Foundation of the United States of America, and by member companies of the Carnegie Mellon Sphinx Speech Consortium. We acknowledge the contributions of many volunteers to the expansion and improvement of this dictionary. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY NOR ITS EMPLOYEES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
CMUdict BSD-style license
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Attribution: (C) Crown copyright. Data supplied by National Records of Scotland.
License: Open Government Licence v3.0
Attribution: Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence
License: Open Government Licence v3.0
Attribution: U.S. Social Security Administration
Credit: Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0147-01, 1991–2025, released 23 September 2026.
License: Statistics Canada Open Licence
Adaptation: Adapted from Statistics Canada, First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators, Table 17-10-0147-01, reference years 1991–2025. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Credit: Central Statistics Office, Ireland, VSA50 and VSA60, updated 27 February 2026.
License: CC BY 4.0
Adaptation: Adapted by Rare Baby Names: joined the published count and rank indicators and matched unambiguous existing spellings. Source values retained.
Credit: Source : Insee, Fichier des prénoms, updated 16 July 2026.
License: Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab)
Adaptation: Adapted by Rare Baby Names: column names and sex codes mapped and unique case-only spellings matched to existing profiles. Published rounded counts and ranks retained.
