The Mandela Effect is named after Nelson Mandela because many people wrongly remember him dying in prison in the 1980s.

The term was coined after people shared a false memory of Nelson Mandela's death in prison, although he was released in 1990 and became South Africa's president. This collective false memory was surprising and led to the naming of the phenomenon. It shows how even famous events can be misremembered by many people at once.