Melody comes from the Greek meloidia, a song or chant, and means "melody" or "song". It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 1920s and has returned along with other word names such as Harmony and Lyric. Melody ranked number 399 in the United States in 2000, rose from number 148 in 2015 into the top 100 in 2024 and reached number 79 among girls in 2025, its best rank so far.