Baby Names US
boys' name ★ peaked 2012

Mehdi

Meaning A male given name from Persian Gender Boy Rank 2025 #4,009 Trend ↑ Rising 32%

A male given name from Persian.

Rank 2025
#4,009
among boys · ↓60 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
27
named Mehdi · -4% vs 2024
How common
1 in 63,262
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2012
37 babies
All-time total
1,024
#5,057 all-time among boys
First recorded
1976
in Social Security records

Mehdi popularity over time

1,024 babies have been named Mehdi since 1976, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.010.010.020.0318801900192019401960198020002020Peak 2022Boys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Boys Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – –
1890s – – – –
1900s – – – –
1910s – – – –
1920s – – – –
1930s – – – –
1940s – – – –
1950s – – – –
1960s – – – –
1970s 37 4 – #2,523
1980s 111 11 +200% #3,215
1990s 168 17 +51% #2,774
2000s 285 29 +70% #2,828
2010s 273 27 -4% #3,094
2020s (to 2025) 150 25 -8% #3,318

Where Mehdi is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 29 0.02 outside top 500
2027 31 0.02 outside top 500
2028 32 0.02 outside top 500
2029 34 0.02 outside top 500
2030 35 0.02 outside top 500

The story of Mehdi

Mehdi is rare for boys in the United States, ranked #4,009 in 2025 with 27 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1976, 1,024 American babies have been named Mehdi. Its peak came in 2012, when 37 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Mehdi stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Mehdi?

The median living Mehdi is about 18 years old; half are between 10 and 28. An estimated 1,000 people named Mehdi are alive in the United States today.

median 18 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Mehdi year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Boys Boys rank
2025 27 #4,009
2024 28 #3,949
2023 22 #4,686
2022 36 #3,318
2021 13 #6,559
2020 24 #4,231
2019 19 #5,088
2018 16 #5,698
2017 26 #4,058
2016 27 #3,946
2015 25 #4,143
2014 30 #3,588
2013 30 #3,554
2012 37 #3,094
2011 32 #3,408
2010 31 #3,507
2009 33 #3,382
2008 29 #3,703
2007 32 #3,420
2006 25 #3,957
2005 24 #3,896
2004 27 #3,512
2003 35 #2,828
2002 28 #3,236
2001 26 #3,376
2000 26 #3,266
1995 16 #3,988
1990 13 #4,328
1985 11 #3,952
1980 13 #3,369
1975 – –
1970 – –
1965 – –
1960 – –
1955 – –
1950 – –
1945 – –
1940 – –
1935 – –
1930 – –
1925 – –
1920 – –
1915 – –
1910 – –
1905 – –
1900 – –
1895 – –
1890 – –
1885 – –
1880 – –

Famous people named Mehdi

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Mehdi Bazargan Mehdi Bazargan Iranian politician and activist (1907–1995) Contemporary
  2. 2 Mehdi Hassan Mehdi Hassan Pakistani ghazal singer (1927–2012) Contemporary
  3. 3 Mehdi Ben Barka Mehdi Ben Barka Moroccan politician (1920–1965) Contemporary
  4. 4 Mehdi Karroubi Mehdi Karroubi Iranian Shia cleric and reformist politician b. 1937 · Contemporary
  5. 5 Mehdi Mahdavikia Mehdi Mahdavikia Iranian football coach and former player b. 1977 · Contemporary
  6. 6 Mehdi Nafti Mehdi Nafti Tunisian footballer and manager (born 1978) Contemporary
  7. 7 Mehdi Rahmati Mehdi Rahmati Iranian footballer and coach b. 1983 · Contemporary
  8. 8 Mehdi Baala Mehdi Baala French middle-distance runner b. 1978 · Contemporary
  9. 9 Mehdi Huseynzade Mehdi Huseynzade Soviet Azerbaijani partisan (1918–1944) Contemporary
  10. 10 Mehdi Jomaa Mehdi Jomaa Tunisian engineer (born 1962) Contemporary
  11. 11 Mehdi Ben Slimane Tunisian footballer (born 1974) Contemporary
  12. 12 Mehdi Lacen Mehdi Lacen Algerian footballer (born 1984) Contemporary
  13. 13 Mehdi Mostefa Mehdi Mostefa Algerian professional footballer (born 1983) Contemporary
  14. 14 Mehdi Abid Charef Mehdi Abid Charef Algerian association football referee b. 1980 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Mehdi, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Mehdi?

The median living Mehdi is about 18 years old. Half of all living Mehdis are between 10 and 28 years old.

How many people named Mehdi are alive today?

An estimated 1,000 people named Mehdi are alive in the United States, based on 1,024 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Mehdi mean?

A male given name from Persian.

How popular is the name Mehdi in 2025?

Mehdi ranked #4,009 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 27 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Mehdi?

1,024 babies have been named Mehdi in the United States since 1976, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Mehdi most popular?

Mehdi peaked in 2012, when 37 newborns received the name.

Is Mehdi a boy or girl name?

Mehdi is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Mehdi rising or falling?

Mehdi has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Mehdi become more popular?

Mehdi is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 35 boys named Mehdi in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Mehdi?

Well-known people named Mehdi include Mehdi Bazargan (politician), Mehdi Hassan (musician), Mehdi Ben Barka (politician).

Names like Mehdi

Names that sound and feel close to Mehdi: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Mehdi with similar names → More names starting with M →