Mandy
A diminutive form of Amanda, derived from the Latin meaning "worthy of love".
Name Census estimates that about 35,885 living Americans carry the first name Mandy. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mandy today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mandy births was 1978 (3,124 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mandy. 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 Mandy with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Mandy is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 138 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1970s, recent registration numbers for Mandy have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
36K
~ 1 in 9,551 Americans
Peak year
1978
3,124 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
1998 SSA rank
#4,154
Tracked since 1880
Census
Mandy in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 38,681 people with the first name Mandy, which placed it at #1,074 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
#1,074
National first-name rank
People counted
39K
38,681 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
12.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mandy
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mandy is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (7.3%) and Hispanic (6.6%). 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 Mandy 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 Mandy at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.1% · 30,584
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.3% · 2,817
- Hispanic or Latino6.6% · 2,536
- Two or more races3.4% · 1,333
- Black or African American2.6% · 1,017
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 394
Gender
Gender distribution for Mandy
Out of the 42,573 babies given the name Mandy since 1880, 99.7% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Mandy as a male name
- Ranked #9,208 in 1998
- 6 male births in 1998
- Peak: 1978 (14 births)
Mandy as a female name
- Ranked #4,154 in 2024
- 35 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1978 (3,110 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mandy appears almost entirely female. Of the 38,680 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Mandy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mandy from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 16,306 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
Mandy 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 Mandy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mandys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 50 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Mandy, while Delaware, Vermont, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 740 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mandy
The name Mandy is a diminutive form of the name Amanda, which has its origins in the Latin name Amandus. Amandus derives from the Latin word "amandus," meaning "worthy of love" or "lovable." The name Amanda is believed to have emerged in the Middle Ages, particularly in France and Italy.
The earliest recorded use of the name Mandy can be traced back to the 16th century. It was commonly used as a pet form of Amanda, a name that gained popularity during the Renaissance period. One of the earliest known bearers of the name Mandy was Mandy Scudamore, an English noblewoman who lived in the late 16th century.
In literature, the name Mandy appears in several works from the 19th century onwards. For instance, in Charles Dickens' novel "Dombey and Son," published in 1848, a character named Mandy is mentioned. Additionally, the name features in the novel "The Fortunes of Nigel" by Sir Walter Scott, published in 1822.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Mandy. One of the earliest recorded was Mandy Rice-Davies (1944-2014), a British model and showgirl known for her involvement in the Profumo affair, a political scandal in the 1960s. Another famous bearer of the name was Mandy Patinkin (born 1952), an American actor and singer who rose to prominence for his roles in films like "The Princess Bride" and the TV series "Homeland."
Other prominent figures with the name Mandy include Mandy Moore (born 1984), an American singer, songwriter, and actress known for her roles in movies like "A Walk to Remember" and the TV series "This Is Us." Mandy Barnett (born 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter, while Mandy Musgrave (born 1977) is a former professional tennis player from the United States.
The name Mandy has been popular across different cultures and time periods, with variations in spelling and pronunciation found in various languages. Its enduring appeal can be attributed to its soft, diminutive quality and its association with qualities like love and affection, reflecting its Latin roots.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Mandy
People
Mandy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mandy 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
Mandy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mandy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 35,885 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mandy 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 9,551 US residents.
Is Mandy a common name?
We classify Mandy as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 42,573 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mandy most popular?
The single biggest year for Mandy was 1978, when 3,124 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mandy is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mandy in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 38,681 people with the name Mandy, or 12.81 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,074 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 Mandy 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 Mandy?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mandy appears almost entirely female. Of the 38,680 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Mandy?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mandy is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (7.3%) and Hispanic (6.6%). 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 Mandy most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mandy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.1% (30,584 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 Mandy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mandy a female name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Mandy 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 Mandy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mandy 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 Mandy 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 have the name Mandy?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Mandy, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.