← All names

Melvin

Boy name · 8 babies recorded · 1974–2025

Melvin: 8 babies born in Scotland since 1974, given to boys, peaking at 5 births in 1977.

The name Melvin likely originated as a Scottish surname, itself derived from the Gaelic *Maolmhin*, meaning “chief” or “devotee of Saint Finnan” (from *maol*, a tonsured servant or devotee). It later emerged as a given name. Among famous bearers, Melvin Calvin won the 1961 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on photosynthesis, while Melvyn Douglas was a celebrated, award-winning stage and screen actor. The name shares its root element with several Scottish places, such as the medieval village of *Melvin* in Angus—though mostly it traveled further. In the United States, Melvin rocketed to popularity in the 1930s and 1940s, though it also carries a lively, sometimes affectionate, cultural association through the character Melvin the Grouch on *Sesame Street*.