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