Find out how popular the last name Mendes is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Mendes.

Mendes, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Mendes surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mendes in America

Mendes is the 3514th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mendes surname appeared 10,162 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Mendes.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mendes to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Mendes

The surname Mendes is a Portuguese name that originated in the northern regions of Portugal, particularly in the areas around Porto and Braga. It likely derives from the Latin word "munda," meaning "clean" or "pure," and may have been initially bestowed upon someone who lived near a clean water source or worked as a cleaner or washer.

The earliest recorded instances of the Mendes surname can be traced back to the 12th and 13th centuries in various Portuguese municipal records and census documents. One notable early bearer of the name was Fernão Mendes, a 13th-century Portuguese nobleman and military commander who played a significant role in the reconquest of the Algarve region from the Moors.

In the 14th century, the Mendes surname appeared in several legal documents and property records, such as the Inquirições de D. Afonso III (Inquiries of King Alfonso III), which cataloged landholdings and population figures throughout Portugal.

During the Age of Exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries, many Portuguese families with the Mendes surname participated in the colonization efforts and spread the name to various parts of the world, including Brazil, Africa, and Asia.

One of the most famous historical figures with the Mendes surname was Pedro Mendes (1558-1637), a Portuguese explorer and navigator who played a crucial role in the early exploration and settlement of Newfoundland, Canada.

Other notable individuals with the Mendes surname include:

1. João Mendes de Vasconcelos (1624-1718), a Portuguese Jesuit priest and theologian known for his work on moral theology.

2. Francisco Mendes (1673-1743), a Portuguese painter and engraver who worked in the Baroque style.

3. Manuel Mendes da Conceição Santos (1876-1949), a Portuguese politician and lawyer who served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1923 to 1925.

4. José Mendes Cabeçadas (1888-1965), a Portuguese military officer and politician who served as the President of Portugal from 1925 to 1926.

5. Murilo Mendes (1901-1975), a renowned Brazilian poet and one of the pioneers of the Brazilian Modernist movement in literature.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mendes

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Mendes.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Mendes was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Mendes has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Mendes was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Mendes, please contact us.

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