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Is Mendela (not Mandela) a Polish surname?
I know an American white man with the surname of Mendela who says his ancestors come from Poland. When I saw him on Sunday, I jokingly said...your brother died this past week. He knew I meant the more famous 95yr. old South African Nelson Mandela. Is the nonfamous Mendela surname Polish?
3 Answers
- MaxiLv 77 years agoFavorite Answer
Surnames come from languages and the influence of languages not countries........ and anyone anywhere can use any name.......as this person told you HIS ancestors came from Poland, so that is where they came from.........
As so far as records, the earliest of this spelling ( and spellings really don't make any difference) are 1700s and from Italy, Mexico, Hungary and Poland and the eariest ones for Mandela are Hungary and Spain...........
So language influence not country................
- Anonymous7 years ago
Not that I know of: but Mendel was a very common given name among Ashkenazi (East European) Jews. It created the common Ashkenazi surname Mendel and Mendels(s)ohn; it's quite possible that Mendela is a variant.