This most unusual surname is a rare variant of the early medieval English name Mander, which has two possible sources. Firstly, the surname may be from an agent derivative of the Middle English "maund", Old French "mande", basket, and would have been an occupational name for a maker of baskets. The baskets would have been containers made of interwoven strips of pliable materials, such as cane, straw, thin wood or plastic, and would often have handles for ease in carrying. Secondly, the surname may have been given to someone in some position of authority, deriving from an aphetic form of the Middle English "coma(u)nder", from "coma(u)nden", to command (Anglo-Norman French "comaunder", Old French "comander"). Job-descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer, and later became hereditary. Regional and dialectal differences have produced many variations in the spelling of the name, ranging from Mander, Maunder, Mantow and Mundo, to Mandoe, Mendow and Mundow. On June 27th 1675, Maria Anna, daughter of Joannis Petri and Mariae Mandow, was christened at St. Martin in the Fields, Westminster, London, and William Mendows married Mary Arkel at Churchdown, Gloucestershire, on January 30th 1771. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Mando, which was dated May 17th 1544, marriage to Elizabeth Hargrave, at St. Lawrence Pountney, London, during the reign of King Henry V111, known as "Good King Hal", 1509 - 1547. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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