Given name & surname
Mahdi
“the expected daughter”·“one who is expected”
Mahdi is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “the expected daughter” (African) and “one who is expected” (African). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “the expected daughter” (African) and “one who is expected” (African). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is African.
How it developed
From Arabic مَهْدِيّ (“guided one”), from Arabic هَدَى, from Arabic ه د ي.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1959. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Mahdi through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,398
- 2,398 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2024
- 107 babies
- 2025
- 104
- #1,629 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +17%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 104 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,629 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 17.2% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, Michigan had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (33). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,931 as a first name in 2020; 2,067 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Mahdi’s family of names
Mahdi has a related form in Mahdy. Mahdi has a related form in Mahdea. Mahdi has a related form in Mahdee.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Mahdi
- Mehdi JomaaTunisian politicianborn 1962
- Mehdi CerbahAlgerian association football player (1953–2021)
- Mahdi CamaraFrench and Gambian footballer (born 1998)
- Mahdi KamilIraqi association football playerborn 1995
- Mahdi KarimIraqi footballerborn 1983
- Mehdi SohrabiIranian cyclistborn 1981
- Mahdi AliEmirati soccer player and coachborn 1965
- Mahdi FleifelDanish-Palestinian directorborn 1979
- Mahdi ElmandjraMoroccan academic (1933-2014)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Mahdi, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Mani
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91% boys · 9% girls
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79% boys · 21% girls
Sekai
“one who brings laughter and great joy” · “one who laughs often”
90% boys · 10% girls
Masud
“a fortunate man”
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Rael
“as innocent as a lamb”
85% boys · 15% girls
Kato
“a man of good judgment” · “the second born of twins”
>99% boys