Sorry, I couldnt come up with a serious etymology. How about a silly one?
"
Nir" is Sanskrit meaning "without" or "nil" (words such as
Nirvana are thus derived).
"Mela" is derived from the Greek "Meli" meaning "honey" (names including
Melina are related).
So our your friend's name means "no honey", or on a more ominous note, "no, honey!".