Well-known Mandailing margas include: Lubis, Nasution, Siregar, Ritonga, Hasibuan, Harahap, Dalimunthe (originally from Munthe), Matondang, Rangkuti, Parinduri, Puasa, Pulungan, Rambe, Daulae(y), Pohan, Batubara (not to be confused with the Batu Bara people from the east coast of Sumatra), Barus and Hutajulu.

[5] Dutch colonization in Sumatra caused the Mandailing to be included as a sub-category of the Batak, as part of a 'wedge policy' to create a non-Muslim buffer state called Batakland between the powerful Muslim Achehnese and Minangkabau nations.

[6] The Mandailing was associated with the Toba Batak people instead of being recognized as a distinct ethnic minority.

Consequently, the Mandailing people have been torn between two cultural and ethnic identities, namely Batak-Mandailing in Indonesia and Malay-Mandailing in Malaysia.

The British appointed Raja Bilah Penghulu of Blanja while his son Raja Yacob became Penghulu of Tronoh, which generated large revenues after the opening of the Tronoh Mines, the largest tin producer in the world in the 1920s.

[9] In the 19th century, a portion of the Mandailing were converted to Islam during the Padri War when Muslim clerics from west Sumatra pressured them to adopt the religion.

[10]: 55  After conversion, Islam took firm roots in the Mandailing people through integration with the larger Muslim Malay world.

The first Christian teachings in the Mandailing region were in the Pakantan area brought by evangelists from Switzerland and Russia in 1821.

[12] The Mandailing classic of daun ubi tumbuk or mashed tapioca leaves, lush with bunga kantan, lemongrass and coconut milk flavor is a famous food among the Mandailing people.