Mendi
Feminine
Mendi is two light syllables, close to Mandy and Mindy, and it spells a real word by coincidence: in Basque, mendi means 'mountain', and it stands inside surnames like Mendoza and Mendizabal.
How old is the name Mendi?
Mendi first appears in US birth records in 1962 — 63 years ago. The typical Mendi alive today was born around 1975, making them about 50 years old. About 500 people named Mendi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Mendi most popular?
Mendi peaked in 1974, reaching #1848 nationally. See the whole 1974 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Mendi
Mendi sounds as if it belongs with Mandy and Mindy, and by ear it does: one vowel different from each, the same bright second syllable. On paper it has a second life. In Basque, mendi is the ordinary word for mountain, and it stands at the front of family names across the Basque Country, Mendoza among them, usually read as 'cold mountain', and Mendizabal, 'wide mountain'. A short American name and a mountain word from the western Pyrenees meet at the same five letters, and neither borrowed from the other.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No meaning is recorded for Mendi as an American given name. It sits between Mandy, a short form of Amanda, and Mindy, a short form of Melinda; nothing records which, if either, it follows. The Basque word mendi, 'mountain', is a separate fact that shares its letters.
Pronouncing Mendi
MEN-dee
Stress on the first syllable; the first vowel is the e of 'men'.
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1962
- Most girls named
- 197549 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1848reached in 1974
- Change vs 1990
- −16.7%5 in 1992, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Mendis among us
people named Mendi are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Mendi sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Short and spelled as it sounds.
- Close to Mandy and Mindy, so the sound is familiar.
- Carries a real word, 'mountain', in Basque.
- It will be heard as Mandy or Mindy and written that way until corrected.
- There is no documented meaning for the name itself, only the Basque coincidence, which is a fine story as long as it is told as a coincidence.
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Mendi
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Mendis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Mendi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Mendi in 2025?
- Mendi is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Mendi with classmates?
- Mendi will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More M names
The most-given names starting with M, all years combined.
Mary#125 · Margaret#112 · Michelle#465 · Melissa#419 · Maria#87 · Martha#712 · Marie#617 · Mildred#1962
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Mendi? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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