Meaning & Origin
A surname from Old French.
Melvin is a boy's and girl's baby name of Old French origin, possibly from the Norman surname Méauville or derived from the Gaelic elements meaning "chief" or "leader." It entered English use as a surname before crossing over as a given name in the 19th century.
Melvin ranked in the U.S. top 30 boys' names from the 1910s through the 1940s. Film director Mel Brooks, born Melvin Kaminsky, is the name's most irreverent and beloved bearer — Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein represent comedy at its most subversive. The nickname Mel is effortlessly cool.