Melinda

Look up Melinda in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Melinda is a given name for a female child.

Etymology

The modern name Melinda is a combination of "Mel" with the suffix "-inda".^[1] "Mel" can be derived from names such as Melanie meaning "dark, black" in Greek, or from Melissa meaning "honeysuckle" in Greek. It is also associated with the Greek word meli, meaning "honey", and with Linda, meaning "gentle, soft, tender" in the Germanic languages.^[2] Three possible nicknames for Melinda may be "Mindy" or "Meli" or "Mel".

Pronunciation

The typical English pronunciation of Melinda is /məˈlɪndə/. In Romanian, the stress is also on the second syllable: [meˈlinda]. In Hungarian however, the stress is on the first syllable: [ˈmɛlindɒ].

Usage and popularity

The name Melinda is used in English, Romanian 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.^[3] 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.

Famous Melindas

• Melinda Clarke, American actress
• Melinda Culea, American actress
• Melinda Czink, Hungarian tennis player
• Melinda Doolittle, American singer and American Idol contestant
• Melinda Gates, philanthropist and wife of Bill Gates
• Melinda Messenger, English model & TV presenter
• Melinda Saxe, American magician
• Melinda Szik, Czink's Hungarian compatriot and weightlifter
• Milinda is the Pali form of the name of king Menander I Soter

The name Melinda in popular culture

In film and television

• Melinda and Melinda, American film, 2005
• Melinda Gordon, Jennifer Love Hewitt character from Ghost Whisperer
• Melinda from The Real World: Austin
• Melinda Warren and Melinda Halliwell, from TV show Charmed
• Melinda Warner, Medical examiner on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

In music

• "Sweet Melinda, the peasants call her the Goddess of Gloom" from Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues by Bob Dylan, 1965
• Melinda, 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 (Velvett Fogg), UFO (UFO 1), 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 Heartbreakers

In literature

• Melinda, 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 Andrews
• Melinda, main character of the book Speak (1999) by Laurie Halse Anderson
• Melinda, porn star mentioned in the book Snow by Orhan Pamuk
• Melinda, picture book written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Dagmara Matusak

In crime

• Melinda Loveless tortured and burned Shanda Sharer to death with the help of other teenage girls.

In agriculture

• Melinda is a consortium producing apples in Trentino.

References