Melinda

Melinda is a feminine given name.

Etymology

The modern name Melinda is a combination of "Mel" with the suffix "-inda". "Mel" can be derived from names such as Melanie meaning "dark, black" in Greek, or from Melissa meaning "honeysuckle" in Greek. It is also associated with the Greek word meli, meaning "honey", and with Linda, meaning "gentle, soft, tender" in the Germanic languages. Three possible nicknames for Melinda may be "Mindy" or "Meli" or "Mel".

Pronunciation

The typical English pronunciation of Melinda is /məˈlɪndə/. In Romanian, the stress is also on the second syllable: [meˈlinda]. In Hungarian however, the stress is on the first syllable: [ˈmɛlindɒ].

Usage and popularity

The name Melinda is used in English, Romanian and Hungarian. In the United States, its popularity peaked in 1973 at No. 72. In 1990 it was in the top 1000 names in the US, and in 2002 it was in the top 100 names in Hungary. Since its peak the popularity of the name Melinda has been gradually declining in the United States, to last be seen on the top 1000 list in 2002 at No. 932. Variations in spelling include Melynda, Melyndah, Malinda, and Milinda.

List of EastEnders characters (2008)

The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera EastEnders in 2008, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by executive producer Diederick Santer. Santer introduced four characters in January, Mr Lister, a new market inspector; Christian Clarke, the brother of Jane Beale and two members of the Branning family, Selina and Penny. In March, he introduced Jalil Iqbal, a new love interest for Shabnam Masood and in April he introduced Ricky Butcher's fiancée, Melinda as well as Bianca Jackson's children, Whitney, Morgan and Tiffany. Also in April he introduced Denise Fox's ex-husband, Lucas Johnson, and Opal Smith, the aunt of Gus and Juley Smith. In May he extended the Johnson family and introduced Lucas's son, Jordan as well as introducing Brenda Boyle, a new love interest for Charlie Slater. In July, he introduced two members of the long-established Mitchell family, Archie Mitchell and Danielle Jones. In August, he introduced Callum Monks, the son of Vinnie and in September, Tony King, arrived as the partner of Bianca, and Poppy Merritt, the new GP of Walford. November saw the only birth of the year, Amy Mitchell, the child of Roxy Mitchell and Jack Branning. The final introduction of the year was Dotty, Nick Cotton's daughter.

Melinda (fly)

Melinda is a genus of flies in the family Calliphoridae. In general little is known of their biology. A few species have been reared from snails. One – Melinda cognata – is parasitic in the snails Helicella virgata and Goniodiseus rotundata and Melinda itoi is a parasite of the snail Acusta despecta sieboldiana.

Distribultion

Most species are Oriental and Australian, but are found throughout the Old World tropical regions, and some parts the Palaearctic Region such as North Africa, Europe, China and Japan. In the Australian region, it is found in Fiji and the Samoan Islands.

Species