Mendes Family History
Mendes Name Meaning
Portuguese and Galician: patronymic from the personal name Mendo a shortened form of Menendo (see Menendez ). Jewish (Sephardic): adoption of the Iberian surname (see 1 above) at the moment of conversion to Roman Catholicism. After the return to Judaism (generations later) some descendants retained the name their families used as Catholics.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022