Mindi
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "who measures".
Name Census estimates that about 3,977 living Americans carry the first name Mindi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mindi today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mindi births was 1979 (315 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mindi. 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
4.0K
~ 1 in 86,184 Americans
Peak year
1979
315 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2014 SSA rank
#18,378
Tracked since 1950
Census
Mindi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,023 people with the first name Mindi, which placed it at #4,572 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
#4,572
National first-name rank
People counted
4.0K
4,023 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
89.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mindi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mindi is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Mindi 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 Mindi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.7% · 3,610
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 159
- Two or more races2.9% · 118
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 76
- Black or African American0.8% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 26
Popularity
Mindi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mindi from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 1,983 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
Mindi 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 Mindi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mindis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 31 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Mindi, while Wyoming, Tennessee, South Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 78 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mindi
The name Mindi is a feminine given name of Indo-Aryan origin, believed to have derived from the Sanskrit word "mindi," meaning "ruby" or "red gem." It is a popular name in several regions of South Asia, including India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
The earliest recorded use of the name Mindi dates back to ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, where it was often associated with qualities like beauty, strength, and resilience. In the epic Mahabharata, one of the central characters is named Mindi, who is described as a brave and fierce warrior.
During the medieval period, the name Mindi gained popularity among the ruling classes and aristocracy in various parts of the Indian subcontinent. Historical records show that several notable figures bore this name, including Mindi Devi, a 14th-century ruler of the Chauhan dynasty in present-day Rajasthan, India (born circa 1320).
In the 16th century, Mindi Begum was a prominent figure in the Mughal Empire, renowned for her patronage of the arts and her influence in the court of Emperor Akbar (born around 1555). Her legacy includes several architectural marvels, such as the Mindi Mahal in Agra, India.
Another notable figure with the name Mindi was Mindi Kaur, a 19th-century Sikh warrior and leader who played a crucial role in the Sikh struggle against British colonial rule in the Punjab region (born in 1835). She is revered for her bravery and unwavering commitment to her principles.
In more recent times, the name Mindi has been adopted by individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds, transcending its original South Asian roots. One prominent example is Mindi Abair, an American saxophonist and singer known for her contributions to contemporary jazz and smooth jazz (born in 1969).
While the name Mindi has gained global recognition and popularity, its roots can be traced back to the rich cultural heritage and ancient traditions of the Indian subcontinent, where it was once associated with strength, beauty, and resilience.
People
Mindi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mindi 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
Mindi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mindi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,977 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mindi 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 86,184 US residents.
Is Mindi a common name?
We classify Mindi as "Rare". It ranks above 96% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,405 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mindi most popular?
The single biggest year for Mindi was 1979, when 315 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mindi is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mindi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,023 people with the name Mindi, or 1.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,572 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 Mindi 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 Mindi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mindi appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,021 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Mindi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mindi is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Mindi most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mindi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (3,610 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 Mindi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mindi a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mindi 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 Mindi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mindi 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 Mindi 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 share the name Mindi?
Want to know how many people have the name Mindi? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.