How popular is the baby name Melisande in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Melisande.

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Popularity of the baby name Melisande


Posts that mention the name Melisande

Popular baby names in Paris, 2015

Flag of France
Flag of France

According to Open Data Paris, the most popular baby names in Paris, France, in 2015 were Louise and Adam/Gabriel (tie).

Here are the city’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2015:

Girl Names

  1. Louise, 293 baby girls
  2. Alice, 244
  3. Chloé, 206
  4. Emma, 178
  5. Inès, 175
  6. Sarah, 174
  7. Jeanne, 173
  8. Anna, 160
  9. Adèle, 155
  10. Juliette, 149

Boy Names

  1. Adam, 355 baby boys (tie)
  2. Gabriel, 355 (tie)
  3. Raphaël, 320
  4. Paul, 260
  5. Louis, 256
  6. Arthur, 245
  7. Alexandre, 226
  8. Victor, 208
  9. Jules, 205
  10. Mohamed, 185

In the girls’ top 10, Anna and Juliette replaced Camille and Lina.

In the boys’ top 10, Jules replaced Maxime.

The prénom mixte (unisex name) Charlie saw a dual-gender decline in 2015, “probably due to the association with the attacks in Charlie Hebdo in January.”

  • 2015: 29 girls and 6 boys named Charlie in Paris
  • 2014: 71 girls and 35 boys named Charlie in Paris
  • 2013: 75 girls and 37 boys named Charlie in Paris

Like the SSA data, the Paris data includes names used as seldom as 5 times per year. Here are some of the names from the bottom of the Paris rankings:

Uncommon Girl NamesUncommon Boy Names
Cléa, Clothilde, Dyna, Isée, Jane, Mélisande, Ornella, Romaïssa, Tasnime, WendyDemba, Ezio, Foucauld, Harold, Idrissa, Massyl, Sixte, Tidiane, Vianney, Yaya

Slightly higher up on the girls’ side I spotted Armance, used 6 times. It’s both a river in France and a romance novel by French writer Stendhal (born Marie-Henri Beyle).

Sources: Liste des prénoms – Paris Data, Les prénoms les plus donnés à Paris en 2015

Image: Adapted from Flag of France (public domain)

Baby name needed: Old-fashioned but not-too-popular girl name

A reader named Debra wrote to me a few days ago about her situation:

I’ve loved the names Sophia and Olivia for about 10 years, but now as I am about to have my own baby girl, these names are very popular. I’m looking for girl names that are old fashioned, a tad unusual, and don’t clash with our names, Nathan and Debra. So far Silvia/Silvie is my front runner but my husband is not in love with it. I’d love suggestions.

Many expectant parents seem to be in the same boat regarding names like Sophia and Olivia (…and Isabella, and Hannah, and so on).

Luckily, there are plenty of other old-fashioned names out there. For instance, none of the following are super-popular on a national level right now (though a few, like Valeria and Lydia, do have the potential to become popular in the next few years):

Aurelia
Augusta
Camilla
Celia
Cora
Coralie
Cordelia
Dorothy
Elodie
Eloisa
Evelina
Flora
Georgia
Harriet
Helena
Josephine
Lelia
Lydia
Matilda
Melisande
Octavia
Phoebe
Ramona
Rosa
Rosella
Rosina
Rowena
Sabina
Sibylla
Stella
Theresia
Valeria
Viola
Violet
Willa

I’d intended to exclude all D- and N-names (for a distinct first initial)…but Dorothy I kept. I like how it both begins with a D (as Debra does) and includes a Th (as Nathan does). A cute way to pay tribute to Mom and Dad, maybe?

Let me know what other names you would suggest!

Update: The baby is here! Scroll down to the last comment to find out which name Debra chose.