Explore the Family Name Mellema

The meaning of Mellema

West Frisian and Dutch (mainly Groningen): patronymic, formed with the Frisian suffix -ma ‘(one of the) men of’, from the personal name Melle, a pet form of an ancient Germanic name with the first element amal ‘capable, brave, eager’. Some characteristic forenames: Dutch Dirk, Gerrit, Gerritt.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Mellema in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Mellema experienced a slight decline in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked 31,848th most popular, dropping to 32,710th in 2010, a decrease of 2.71%. Despite this drop in rank, the actual count of people with the Mellema surname increased from 685 in 2000 to 702 in 2010, which is an increase of 2.48%. However, when analyzed as a proportion per 100k of the population, there was a 4% decrease over this decade.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#31,848	#32,710	-2.71%
Count	685	702	2.48%
Proportion per 100k	0.25	0.24	-4%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Mellema

In terms of ethnicity, also according to the Decennial U.S. Census, the majority of individuals with the Mellema surname identified as White, accounting for 97.81% in 2000 and slightly decreasing to 97.29% in 2010. The Asian/Pacific Islander representation within this surname decreased by 3.41%, going from 0.88% in 2000 to 0.85% in 2010. Those who identified with two or more races made up 0.73% in 2000 and slightly decreased to 0.71% in 2010. Interestingly, there was a new category in 2010, with 0.71% identifying as Hispanic that wasn't recorded in 2000. There were no individuals under this surname who identified as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	97.81%	97.29%	-0.53%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.88%	0.85%	-3.41%
Two or More Races	0.73%	0.71%	-2.74%
Hispanic	0%	0.71%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%