Melania Trump's Slovenian First Name and the More Unusual Surname She Dropped After Move to US Revealed

Melania Trump was born as Melanija Knavs on April 26, 1970, in Novo Mesto, Slovenia (then part of Yugoslavia). Her early years were a far cry from the glamour of the White House. Her parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs raised her alongside her older sister Ines in a modest household. The family name, Knavs, has Germanic roots and translates to 'hillock,' reflective of their Slovenian heritage.

As per Irish Star, the name Melanija is derived from the Greek word 'mélas' meaning 'dark' or 'black.' When she embarked on her modeling career at 16, Melania embraced a new identity, altering her name to the Germanic spelling ‘Knauss’ and dropping the traditional ‘j’ from her first name. This change marked the beginning of her journey into the global spotlight. Melania’s modeling career brought her to New York in the 1990s, where she met Donald Trump at a New York Fashion Week Party in 1998. They later wed in 2005.

Fluent in six languages—Slovenian, English, French, German, Italian, and Serbo-Croatian—she became the only First Lady in US history whose native language wasn’t English. Melania's tenure as First Lady showcased her multifaceted persona. She launched the 'Be Best' initiative, focusing on children’s well-being, social media awareness, and combating opioid abuse. However, she has rarely engaged in political discourse. Fashion psychologist Dawnn Karen revealed, "She tends to wear sunglasses and hats to shield herself from the public eye. As she's stated in previous interviews, she often feels as though she is being bullied."

Despite her aloofness, Melania has consistently earned admiration from her husband. Donald has often compared Melania to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. He remarked, "There was Jackie O, and that's good. But we have our own Jackie O today. It's called Melania…Melania. We'll call it Melania T. Okay?... By the way, people love her. People love her. She gets no credit from the media but she gets credit from the people." Despite the glowing praise, reports suggest a complicated dynamic within the Trump family. According to People magazine, a controversial biography, The Art of Her Deal by Mary Jordan, claimed Ivanka Trump referred to Melania as 'The Portrait' due to her reserved nature. 

Melania, in turn, allegedly dubbed Ivanka 'The Princess,' a nod to perceived entitlement. However, former White House official, Stephanie Grisham, denied the claims, asserting, "Yet another book about Mrs. Trump with false information and sources…This book belongs in the fiction genre." Former White House spokesman, Judd Deere, echoed, "These allegations couldn’t be further from the truth, and had the Washington Post or the publishers of this book fact-checked this with Ivanka’s office, they would know that. Hit pieces like these only serve to conjure non-existent palace-intrigue stories unworthy of the paper they’re printed on."