Masculine dossier · first seen 1902
Mel
Stable
Cross-generational persistence
Peak era
1958
Peak births
120
Current vitality
Rare
Peak generation
Boomer
Quick answers about Mel
How many people are named Mel?
An estimated 2,117 living Americans are named Mel.
How rare is Mel?
Mel is very rare among babies today, with 11 boys receiving the name in 2025, down 90.8% from its 1958 peak.
How old is the typical Mel?
The median age of a living American named Mel is approximately 62 years, with most bearers falling between 46 and 70 years old.
Is Mel still popular?
Yes. Mel is holding steady, with 11 births in 2025 and a consistent recent baseline.
Where is Mel most common?
Mel has its strongest geographic signal in California, where it appears 2.8× more often than the national baseline.
1902Peak 19582025
Peak year
1958
Decline from peak
90.8%
2025
11
All-time
3,693
Where it lives now
Mel is most concentrated in California — about 2.8× the national rate in the 1940s. It also runs high in New York.
States where Mel is given more often than the national average — its present-day heartland.