The modern name Melinda is a combination of "Mel" with the suffix "-inda". "Mel" can be derived from names such as Melanie meaning "dark, black" in Greek, or from Melissa (μέλισσα) meaning "Honeybee" in Greek. It is also associated with the Greek word meli, meaning "honey", and with Linda, from "lind" meaning "gentle, soft, tender" in the Germanic languages. Three possible nicknames for Melinda may be "Mindy" or "Meli" or "Mel".
The typical English pronunciation of Melinda is /məˈlɪndə/. In Hungarian however, the stress is on the first syllable: [ˈmɛlindɒ].
Usage and popularity
The name Melinda is used in English and Hungarian. In the United States, its popularity peaked in 1973 at No. 72. In 1990 it was in the top 1000 names in the US, and in 2002 it was in the top 100 names in Hungary. Since its peak the popularity of the name Melinda has been gradually declining in the United States, to last be seen on the top 1000 list in 2002 at No. 932. Variations in spelling include Melynda, Melyndah, Malinda, and Milinda.
József Katona, Hungarian playwright and poet, used the name Melinda first in 1815 in his legendary historical tragedy Bánk bán.
In Hungary, December 2 is Melinda Day.
Melinda Bush, Illinois senatorMelinda Clarke, American actressMelinda Culea, American actressMelinda Czink, Hungarian tennis playerMelinda Doolittle, American singer and American Idol contestantMelinda Estes, American neuropathologistMelinda Gainsford-Taylor, Australian athleteMelinda Gates, philanthropist and wife of Bill GatesMelinda Harmon, US judgeMelinda Hsu Taylor, American TV writer and producerMelinda Katz, New York politicianMelinda Kinnaman, Swedish actressMelinda Ledbetter, wife and manager of Brian WilsonMalinda Lo, American authorMelinda Lopez, American playwrightMelinda Marx, American actress and daughter of Groucho MarxMelinda Messenger, English model and TV presenterMelinda Pavey, Australian politicianMelinda Saxe, American magicianMelinda Schneider, Australian Country SingerMelinda Schwegmann, Louisiana state representative and lieutenant-governorMelinda Shankar, Canadian actressMelinda Szik, Czink's Hungarian compatriot and weightlifterMelinda Tankard Reist, Australian blogger and social campaignerMelinda Taylor, Australian ICC lawyerMelinda Wagner, American composer and Pulitzer Prize winnerMalinda Williams, American actressIn film and television
Melinda (film), American film, 1972Melinda and Melinda, American film, 2005Melinda Gordon, Jennifer Love Hewitt's character from Ghost WhispererMelinda from The Real World: AustinMelinda Warren and Melinda Halliwell, from TV show CharmedMelinda Warner, Medical examiner on Law & Order: Special Victims UnitMelinda Cramer, character on One Life to LiveMelinda May from Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.Melinda, a centaur from the Disney movie Fantasia"Sweet Melinda, the peasants call her the Goddess of Gloom" from Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues by Bob Dylan, 1965Melinda, one of the two main characters in the story of Swedish progressive death metal band Opeth's 1999 concept album Still Life, which includes the song "Face of Melinda""Sweet Dreams, Melinda" by Trey Anastasio on the album Shine"Sweet Melinda" by John Denver on the album John Denver"Come Away Melinda", written by Fred Hellerman and Fran Minkoff, and recorded by Harry Belafonte (on the album Streets I Have Walked), Judy Collins (Judy Collins 3), Theodore Bikel (A Folksinger's Choice), Tim Rose (Tim Rose), Bobbie Gentry (Local Gentry), Uriah Heep (...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble), Velvett Fogg), Kenny Rankin (Mind-Dusters), The Big 3 (Live at the Recording Studio), and L.Stadt."Me and My Melinda" by Kay Kyser"Remember Melinda" by TQ on the album They Never Saw Me Coming"Melinda was mine..." from Solitary Man by Neil Diamond"Face of Melinda" by Mikael Åkerfeldt, from Opeth's album Still Life"Melinda" by Curved Air appears on the album Retrospective"Melinda" by Tom Petty and the HeartbreakersMelinda, wife of Bánk in József Katona's legendary historical tragedy Bánk bán.Melinda ("Lindy") in the book The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie AndrewsMelinda Sordino, main character of the book Speak (1999) by Laurie Halse AndersonMelinda, porn star mentioned in the book Snow by Orhan PamukMelinda, picture book written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Dagmara MatusakMelinda Loveless tortured and burned Shanda Sharer to death with the help of other teenage girls.Melinda is a consortium producing apples in Trentino.Melinda is a town and airport in Belize