© Greg Nash
Fifty-four percent of Americans polled said they viewed the first lady favorably, up 17 points from January when only 37 percent of Americans viewed her favorably.
By comparison, President Trump is viewed unfavorably by a majority of Americans in the poll. Fifty-six percent view the president unfavorably, while 41 percent view him favorably.
While the first lady's popularity has climbed by double digits in the poll, the president's has stayed relatively the same from his 40 percent to 55 percent favorable-unfavorable rating from January.
The first lady got a later start in Washington than her husband. While the president took office in January, the first lady didn't move into the White House until June, after her son finished the school year.
Since settling into her role, the first lady has maintained a more public presence, attending events such as a Toys for Tots campaign on Wednesday and showing off the official White House Christmas decorations earlier this month.
Now just a third of Americans, 33 percent, say they have an unfavorable view of the first lady, while 13 percent of Americans say they had no opinion.
The first lady is still behind her three recent predecessors in terms of favorability during the fall of their husbands' first year in office.
Laura Bush held a 77 percent favorable rating, while 61 percent of Americans viewed Michelle Obama favorably and 58 percent of Americans viewed Hillary Clinton favorably at the time.
The Gallup survey of 1,049 adults was conducted Dec. 4-11 via landlines and cellphones with a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
Comment: So Melania is pretty much on par with Hillary Clinton's first year as FLOTUS, taking into account the margin of error. Considering the uphill battle the Trumps have had to face since entering the White House, that's something of an accomplishment. If you also take into account the people who like the Trumps, but are still afraid to admit it publicly, her numbers may be even higher. It's people like that who got Trump elected after all. And with PR like this, it'll be a surprise if the number of Americans who think similarly doesn't keep rising: Child visiting Christmas White House says Melania "like an angel" - inside view of First Lady's Christmas decorations