| Cassandra | Melanie | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Shining upon men | black, dark |
| Origin | Greek | greek |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | kuh-SAN-druh | MEL-uh-nee |
| Syllables | 3 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1902 | 1886 |
| Peak year | 1990 (7,054) | 1972 (6,296) |
| In 2025 | 463 | 2,074 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Cassandra | Melanie |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 2,796 | 13,337 |
| 2010s | 6,365 | 33,086 |
| 2000s | 20,128 | 35,228 |
| 1990s | 50,364 | 29,352 |
| 1980s | 44,911 | 35,952 |
| 1970s | 19,016 | 53,323 |
| 1960s | 16,765 | 36,751 |
| 1950s | 7,692 | 19,849 |
| 1940s | 2,660 | 5,029 |
| 1930s | 164 | 242 |
| 1920s | 76 | 183 |
| 1910s | 61 | 145 |
| 1900s | 10 | 79 |
| 1890s | 0 | 63 |
| 1880s | 0 | 21 |
Cassandra is usually read “shining” or “excelling over men”; she is the tragic prophetess of Troy.
From Greek 'melas / melania' meaning 'black, dark'. Borne by early Christian saints Melania the Elder and Melania the Younger.
Melanie is more popular than Cassandra today: about 2,074 US babies were given the name Melanie in 2025, compared with 463 named Cassandra.
Cassandra means Shining upon men (Greek origin), while Melanie means black, dark (greek origin).
In US records, Cassandra first appears in 1902 and Melanie in 1886, so Melanie has the longer recorded history.