Melchior
From Hebrew, "king of light". Melchior stays rare in Poland: most people here have never met one, it goes only to boys, and just a few are born each year.
Melchior Pronunciation
Melchior is pronounced MELKH-yor (/ˈmɛlxjɔr/).
What Melchior means
Where Melchior comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Melchior comes from Hebrew. It joins melech, king, to or, light, and the two words read together as king of light. Polish keeps that sense as król światła. The meaning is no later gloss. Both roots carry it plainly.
The best known Melchior never lived in a Polish town. He is one of the three Magi who follow the star to Bethlehem. Polish tradition names them Kacper, Melchior i Baltazar. Melchior often stands as the eldest, the king who brings gold. His feast falls on 6 January, Trzech Króli.
On that morning families chalk K+M+B above the front door. A boy named Melchior finds his own initial there, second in the row. The letter is his. Behind it waits the older reading, król światła.
When Melchior celebrates name day
Melchior appears 4 times in the Polish name day calendar, 2 of them as a main name, the first on 6 January.
The days Polish calendars list this name on. By custom you celebrate one of them, usually the first after your birthday.
Rarer dates. Only the most complete calendars add this name on these days. Most skip them, so hardly anyone celebrates then.
How many people are named Melchior
1 in 141365 men in Poland is named Melchior. 151 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #2646 among male names.
Melchior's popularity over time
2 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #1717 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2024.
Melchior as a middle name
Melchior is a first name for 151 men in Poland and a middle name for another 573, a 21/79 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 298th, between Narcyz (578) and Lukas (570).
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#296 Oscar584
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#297 Narcyz578
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#298 Melchior573
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#299 Lukas570
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#300 Nicholas567