I like
Mel. It does have that retro chic thing going on, like
Max and
Lulu.
Mel is a good Irish saint's name all on its own (
Mellan just reminds me of Melon). On the flip side, it does remind me of
Mel Gibson, who is not my favorite person around. If you wanted to get funky, you could use the Irish name Maelíosa /mel EE uh sa/, which means "servant of
Jesus" and is a man's name (maybe as a middle?) I think it has been anglicized Malise. Some other ideas:
Carmelo,
Melchior (I actually totally love this name), uh... Melquíades?