'Melania' skyrockets in baby name rankings as first lady's popularity soars
No matter what political legacy first lady Melania Trump leaves behind, her name will live on long beyond her time in the White House.
Melania is rapidly gaining popularity as a baby name in the U.S., the Social Security Administration reported Friday.
In 2016, Melania was merely in 1,650th place among most popular girls' names. In 2017, it shot up to 930th place, the fifth biggest increase in popularity. The only other names that jumped more rapidly were Ensley, Oaklynn, Dream, and Oaklyn.
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The major boost coincided with high ratings for the first lady, The Hill reported. A May survey found that 57 percent of Americans had a favorable view of Melania. Though Melania is from Slovenia, her name is reportedly of Greek and Spanish origin and means "black."
President Trump likes to boast that his approval ratings are sky-high, but his name isn't picking up steam with new parents like his wife's is. Donald was in 488th place in both 2016 and 2017, the SSA reported. While there may be an influx of Melanias, the name has a way to go before reaching the prominence of Emma, Olivia, and Ava, the top three girls' names in the last two years.
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Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
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