How popular is the baby name Mellyora 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 Mellyora.

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Popularity of the baby name Mellyora


Posts that mention the name Mellyora

Where did the baby name Kerensa come from in 1965?

The Legend of the Seventh Virgin, a historical romance novel set in Cornwall, came out in 1964. It was written by “Victoria Holt,” one of the pen names of prolific English author Eleanor Hibbert.

The next year, not only did the book appear on the New York Times bestseller list, but two character names appeared in the U.S. baby name data.

The one that saw the most usage was Kerensa, from the name of the main character, Kerensa Carlee.

  • 1967: 15 baby girls named Kerensa
  • 1966: 12 baby girls named Kerensa
  • 1965: 8 baby girls named Kerensa [debut]
  • 1964: unlisted
  • 1963: unlisted

Then there’s Mellyora, inspired by the character Mellyora Martin It appeared in the data for the first and only time in 1965:

  • 1967: unlisted
  • 1966: unlisted
  • 1965: 5 baby girls named Mellyora [debut]
  • 1964: unlisted
  • 1963: unlisted

Kerensa (pronounced keh-REHN-zah) comes from the Cornish word kerensa, which means “love” or “charity.”

Mellyora may be based on the Latin word meliora, meaning “better.”

Which “Seventh Virgin” name do you prefer, Kerensa or Mellyora?

P.S. The author’s other pen names? Anna Percival, Elbur Ford, Eleanor Burford, Ellalice Tate, Jean Plaidy, Kathleen Kellow, and Philippa Carr.

Sources: Kerensa – Cornish Dictionary, Eleanor Hibbert – Wikipedia

Interesting one-hit wonder names in the U.S. baby name data

single flower

They came, they went, and they never came back!

These baby names are one-hit wonders in the U.S. baby name data. That is, they’ve only popped up once, ever, in the entire dataset of U.S. baby names (which accounts for all names given to at least 5 U.S. babies per year since 1880).

There are thousands of one-hit wonders in the dataset, but the names below have interesting stories behind their single appearance, so these are the one-hits I’m writing specific posts about. Just click on a name to read more.

2020s

  • (none yet)

2010s

2000s

1990s

1980s

1970s

1960s

1950s

1940s

1930s

1920s

1910s

1900s

  • (none yet)

1890s

As I discover (and write about) more one-hit wonders in the data, I’ll add the names/links to this page. In the meanwhile, do you have any favorite one-hit wonder baby names?

Image: Adapted from Solitary Poppy by Andy Beecroft under CC BY-SA 2.0.

[Latest update: Dec. 2023]