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Home › Baby Names Directory › Mende

Mende

♀ Girl

Pronounced MEN-day /ˈmɛndeɪ/Medium

Meaning: Mende is a short, opaque girls' name of uncertain origin in United States records. It shares its spelling with the Mende, a large ethnic group of Sierra Leone and Liberia, but there is no clear evidence the American given name was consciously drawn from that people; it may equally be a coinage or a shortened form. Honest reading: origin uncertain.Low

In 30 seconds: Mende is a short, uncertain American girls' name, sharing its look with the Mende people of West Africa though no direct tie is proven, used briefly in the mid-1970s (said MEN-day).
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Origin LowAmerican
MeaningMende is a short, opaque girls' name of uncertain origin in United States records. It shares its spelling with the Mende, a large ethnic group of Sierra Leone and Liberia, but there is no clear evidence the American given name was consciously drawn from that people; it may equally be a coinage or a shortened form. Honest reading: origin uncertain.
U.S. rank (1977)#8087 ↗ Rising
1977 U.S. births7 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)
Peak year1975
Total births (all-time)≈ 61

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 197519731977

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Mende is a brief, opaque entry in American girls' naming, surfacing in the mid-1970s. Its origin is genuinely unclear: it may nod to the Mende people of Sierra Leone and Liberia, or it may simply be a short coinage. We flag the uncertainty rather than assert a source.

It barely registered, given to only a small handful of girls across a few years in the mid-1970s before disappearing. That narrow window makes it one of the more obscure names of its cohort.

Did you know? The spelling Mende matches a major West African people, but the rare American girls' name appears only for a few years and its inspiration is not documented.
Overall data confidence 25%
References - Mende — Opaque origin; shares spelling with Mende people of Sierra Leone/Liberia, link unproven

Variations

MendiMindy

Nicknames

MenMendy

Famous Bearers

  • Famous bearers coming soon.

If you like Mende…

Wendy— a like short two-beat girls' name of the era
Mindy— a similar sound and rhythm
Sondra— another brief vintage-feel name
Brenda— a comparable short girls' name of the period

Explore names like Mende

By themeuncertainraregirl

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Mende mean?

Its origin is uncertain; it shares a spelling with the Mende people of West Africa, but no direct link is proven.

How do you pronounce Mende?

It's said MEN-day /ˈmɛndeɪ/, two syllables, stress on the first.

Is Mende a boy or girl name?

Mende is used as a girl's name.

Is Mende a popular name?

No, it has always been very rare, appearing for only a few girls over a handful of years in the mid-seventies.

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