Melanie

Melanie comes from the Greek melaina, "dark" or "black," a reference to hair or complexion in the classical world. Saint Melania the Younger, a fifth-century Roman noblewoman who sold her fortune to fund monasteries, gave the name its early Christian footing. Gone with the Wind's gentle Melanie Wilkes brought it into American usage in the 1940s, and by the 1970s it was in the U.S. top 50. It has settled into a comfortable top 150 register since, with the bonus of easy nicknames Mel and Lanie. Three syllables with a soft landing, melodic as the name suggests. Melanie reads as warm, steady, and quietly kind.