ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 1976 First Year 2017 Last Year 1995 Peak Year #7041 Peak Rank 186 Total Count 26 Years Active 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Mandolin What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. A mandolin is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of eight strings. A variety of string types are used, with steel strings being the most common and usually the least expensive. Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandolin) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandolin) 🏛️Origin & history Main article: History of the mandolin In 1787, Luigi Bassi played the role of Don Giovanni in Mozart's opera , serenading a woman with a mandolin. This used to be the common picture of the mandolin, an obscure instrument of romance in the hands of a Spanish nobleman Mandolins evolved from lutes , a family of instruments in Europe. Predecessors include the gittern and mandore or mandola in Italy during the 17th and 18th centuries. There were a variety of regional variants, but the two most widespread ones were the Neapolitan mandolin and the Lombard mandolin. The Neapolitan style has spread wor [![Wikipedia thumbnail for Mandolin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Mandolin_MET_DP169023_%282%29.jpg/330px-Mandolin_MET_DP169023_%282%29.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandolin) 📖 ## The Story of Mandolin Mandolin first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1976, with 5 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1995, when 12 Mandolins were born — ranking #7,041 that year. As of 2026, Mandolin ranks #12,706 for baby girls with 7 births, with steady use. In total, more than 186 Mandolins have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1970s through the 2020s. ## Popularity Over Time ## Popularity by State ME WA MT ND MN WI MI NY VT NH MA OR ID SD IA IL IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA NV WY NE MO KY WV VA MD DE DC UT CO KS AR TN NC SC AK AZ NM OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL Top 10 11-50 51-100 101-500 500+ No data 🎶 ## Names that sound like Mandolin Phonetically similar names — useful when Mandolin is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * Mandoline * Mendelian * [Madeline](/madeline) * [Madalyn](/madalyn) * Mandolins * Mantling * Mundelein * [Madeleine](/madeleine) * [Madelyn](/madelyn) * [Madlen](/madlen) * Mandalay * [Madaline](/madaline) Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Mandolin What does the name Mandolin mean? A mandolin is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of eight strings. A variety of string types are used, with steel strings being the most common and usually the least expensive. How popular is Mandolin in 2026? In 2026, Mandolin ranks #12,706 among girls' names in the U.S., with 7 babies given the name that year. When was Mandolin most popular? Mandolin reached its peak popularity in 1995, ranking #7,041 that year with 12 babies given the name. Is Mandolin a unisex name? In U.S. Social Security records, Mandolin is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name. What names go well with Mandolin? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Mandolin include Jadine, Adeana, Chandre. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. ## Similar Names [👧JadinePeak #7041](/jadine)[👧AdeanaPeak #7041](/adeana)[👧ChandrePeak #7041](/chandre)[👧DashellPeak #7041](/dashell)[👧SheyPeak #7041](/shey)[👧JajairaPeak #7041](/jajaira)[👧JenishaPeak #7041](/jenisha)[👧JenalynPeak #7041](/jenalyn) ## About the name Mandolin Mandolin is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1976 and has accumulated 186 births in the dataset. Mandolin's peak popularity came in 1995 when it ranked #7,041\. Use the chart and map above to compare Mandolin's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 1995 → ](/year/1995) * [ Names of the 1990s → ](/decade/1990s) * [ Names starting with "M" → ](/letter/m) * [ Browse all girl names → ](/names/girls) * [ Top names of 2026 → ](/year/2026) Data sources * Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. [Social Security Administration ](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships. * Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — [Behind the Name ](https://www.behindthename.com/) (used under their public API terms). * Meaning prose and editorial summary — [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/) article extracts, licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0 ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). * Predicted nationality distribution — [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). * Phonetically similar names — [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.