Mindy is a pet form of Melinda, an 18th-century English literary creation that joins mel, Greek for "honey", to the ending of names like Belinda, so it is usually read as "sweet" or "honey". The sitcom Mork & Mindy and the writer and actress Mindy Kaling kept it in the public eye. Mindy ranked number 1168 in 2000 and sits at number 2401 in 2025.