Melons and the Mellon family (of Gulf Oil fame) popped to mind. As neat as
Mellan is in theory, it might not be the easiest to life with.
My cousin had a son named
Mael ("mel") after an early Celtic saint. It's not a nickname but a name in its own right. The BtN database has another pronunciation, but my cousin was born and still lives in
Ireland (Munster) so I take her pronunciation as correct too. The BtN database doesn't include a spelling that looks more Irish, where an accent mark goes up over the A. Anyway, a long-winded way of offering an alternative to
Melvin and (my beloved)
Melchior. :0)
ETA:
http://www.irishlearner.awyr.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=2039 This message was edited 10/6/2014, 1:23 PM