Mandela has been given to about 172 people in the United States since 1880. It was most common in 1990, which makes it a Gen X and millennial name.
Its best year was 1990, when 36 babies were given the name, ranking 2065th. The typical living American called Mandela is about 24 years old today.
Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.