# Mahdi (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/mahdi/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Arabic.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Arabic |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 1,241 |
| US rank (2010) | 21,157 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 248,788 people |
| Change since 2000 | +84% (675 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmɑːdi/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic مَهْدِيّ (mahdiyy, “guided one”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Mahdi in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 39% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 40% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 11% |
| Two or more races | 7.3% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Mahdi in Belgium.

## People named Mahdi

- Sammy Mahdi, Belgian politician

## Similar surnames

Mathieu, Mathai, Mahood, Moody, Mata, Mead, Meade, Mott, Mota, Mehta, Mathew, Mateo.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.