Mandy can be used as a given name, a diminutive, or a nickname, for both female and male genders.
It is often used as a diminutive (i.e., short form, see hypocorism) of the female names Amanda and Miranda, as well as being a given name in its own right.
It is also used as a diminutive for the masculine names Armand, Armando, Mandel, Mansur or Emmanuel.
Its usage as a popular female name can be traced back to at least the beginning of the 20th century, with the song "Mandy" by Irving Berlin in 1919, and the Milly-Molly-Mandy series of children's books by Joyce Lankester Brisley in the 1920s.
The pop songs "Mandy" by Barry Manilow (1974) and the Irish boyband Westlife (2003) and "I'm Mandy Fly Me" by 10cc (1976) speak to the resurgent popularity of the name in more recent times.