Mendi
An obscure given name likely derived from Euskara (Basque) terms with unknown meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 464 living Americans carry the first name Mendi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mendi today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mendi births was 1975 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mendi. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Mendi with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
464
~ 1 in 738,695 Americans
Peak year
1975
49 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
1992 SSA rank
#14,707
Tracked since 1962
Census
Mendi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 556 people with the first name Mendi, which placed it at #19,177 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#19,177
National first-name rank
People counted
556
556 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mendi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mendi is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Black (4.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Mendi described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Mendi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.7% · 460
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 32
- Black or African American4.7% · 26
- Two or more races3.8% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 4
Popularity
Mendi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mendi from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 343 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mendi by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Mendi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mendis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Texas, California, Oklahoma recorded the most babies named Mendi, while Ohio, Indiana, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mendi
The name Mendi has its origins in the Basque Country, an autonomous region straddling the border between Spain and France. The name is derived from the Basque word "mendi," which translates to "mountain." This reflects the significance of mountains in Basque culture and the region's rugged, mountainous terrain.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mendi dates back to the 12th century, where it appears in Basque historical records. It was commonly used as a given name for both males and females in the Basque regions of Spain and France during this period.
In the 16th century, Mendi Sohieta, a Basque writer and historian, authored several works documenting the history and traditions of the Basque people. His writings provide valuable insights into the cultural significance of the name Mendi during that era.
Fast forward to the 19th century, and we find Mendi Mendieta, a renowned Basque painter and sculptor, who was born in 1818 and died in 1892. His works, which often depicted scenes from Basque life and landscapes, helped to preserve and promote the rich cultural heritage associated with the name Mendi.
Another notable bearer of the name was Mendi Illarramendi, a Basque philosopher and writer who lived from 1865 to 1942. He wrote extensively on Basque culture, language, and identity, and his works continue to be studied and appreciated by scholars and cultural enthusiasts alike.
In more recent times, Mendi Buruz, a Basque mountaineer and explorer, made significant contributions to the study and mapping of the Pyrenees mountain range. Born in 1920 and passing away in 2005, his exploits and writings have immortalized the name Mendi in the annals of mountaineering and exploration.
Lastly, Mendi Goikoetxea, a contemporary Basque artist and sculptor, has gained international recognition for her works that draw inspiration from the Basque landscape and cultural traditions. Born in 1975, her creations often incorporate the name Mendi, paying homage to its rich heritage and symbolism.
People
Mendi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mendi as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Mendi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mendi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 464 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mendi going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 738,695 US residents.
Is Mendi a common name?
We classify Mendi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 514 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mendi most popular?
The single biggest year for Mendi was 1975, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mendi is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mendi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 556 people with the name Mendi, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,177 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Mendi in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Mendi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mendi leans strongly female. 515 people counted with this name were female (94.7%), compared with 29 male bearers (5.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Mendi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mendi is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Black (4.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Mendi most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mendi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.7% (460 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Mendi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mendi a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mendi in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Mendi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mendi in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Mendi can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Mendi?
Find out how many people have the name Mendi on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.