Meaning: Its source is Malvina, an English name meaning "Smooth brow."

Popularity: The name Melva ranked 851st in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.

Though this name has fluctuated in use, it has been quietly present throughout the last century.

Narrative: The source form, Malvina, was created by James Macpherson in the 18th century as a name for a character in his Ossianic poems. Macpherson claimed that these poems were translations of ancient texts, but they were in fact his own creations.