Given name & surname
Mehdi
“one who is guided”
Mehdi is used as a given name and a surname. One interpretation is “one who is guided.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One interpretation is “one who is guided.”
How it developed
In German usage, Mehdi developed from مهدی.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1976. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Mehdi through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,024
- 1,024 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2012
- 37 babies
- 2025
- 27
- #4,009 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +13%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 27 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 4,009 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 12.5% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 37 in 2012. In 2025, Michigan had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (6). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,930 as a first name in 2020; 1,156 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.
Mehdi’s family of names
In German usage, Mehdi developed from the Persian form مهدی. Mehdi has a related form in Mehdea. Mehdi has a related form in Mehdee.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Mehdi
- Mehdi MahdavikiaIranian footballerborn 1977
- Mehdi BazarganIranian politician and Islamic thinker (1907–1995)
- Mehdi KarroubiIranian reformist politician, democracy activist, mojtahed, and chairman of the National Trust Partyborn 1937
- Mehdi AbeidAlgerian-French footballer (born 1992)
- Mahdi TorabiIranian footballerborn 1994
- Mehdi CarcelaMoroccan footballerborn 1989
- Mehdi MostefaAlgerian and French footballerborn 1983
- Mehdi BaalaFrench middle-distance runnerborn 1978
- Mehdi NaftiTunisian-French football managerborn 1978
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Mehdi, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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