Menno
Menno is a masculine given name of German origin meaning "firm, steadfast".
Name Census estimates that about 1,048 living Americans carry the first name Menno. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Menno today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Menno births was 2021 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Menno. 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.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 327,056 Americans
Peak year
2021
33 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,650
Tracked since 1896
Popularity
Menno: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Menno from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 193 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Menno remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Menno 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 Menno during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mennos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio recorded the most babies named Menno, while Kansas, Missouri, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 58 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Menno
The given name Menno originated from the Low German language and culture, with its roots traced back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Germanic name Menno, which itself is a shortened form of the longer name Menold or Meginold. These names are composed of the Germanic elements "magan" (meaning strength or power) and "wald" (meaning to rule or govern).
One of the earliest and most famous historical references to the name Menno is found in the figure of Menno Simons (1496-1561), a Dutch Catholic priest who became an influential leader of the Anabaptist movement during the Protestant Reformation. He is considered the founder of the Mennonite Christian denomination, which was named after him.
Another notable figure bearing the name Menno was Menno Ter Braak (1902-1940), a Dutch author, polemicist, and cultural critic who played a significant role in the literary and intellectual circles of the Netherlands during the early 20th century. He was a prominent voice in the opposition to the rise of fascism and Nazism in Europe.
In the realm of sports, Menno Oosting (1964-) was a successful Dutch speed skater who won multiple medals, including a gold medal in the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, for the 5000m event.
The name Menno also appears in the field of science, with Menno van Coehoorn (1641-1704), a Dutch military engineer and mathematician who made significant contributions to the development of fortifications and ballistic theories during the 17th century.
Lastly, Menno Snel (1936-1994) was a Dutch actor and director who gained recognition for his work in both theater and film, particularly in the Netherlands and Belgium.
People
Menno + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Menno 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
Menno: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Menno?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,048 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Menno 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 327,056 US residents.
Is Menno a common name?
We classify Menno as "Rare". It ranks above 90.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,415 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Menno most popular?
The single biggest year for Menno was 2021, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Menno is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Menno a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Menno in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.