Melani is a streamlined spelling of Melanie, which comes from the Greek melaina and means "dark" or "black", originally describing dark hair or skin. The spelling without the final e is common among Spanish-speaking families, who pronounce it meh-LAH-nee. In the United States Melani rose from number 1754 in 2015 into the top 1000 at number 990 in 2020 and ranks number 1056 in 2025.