The town of Mangaldan is one of the oldest towns in the Province of Pangasinan.  It was founded in June 1600.

There are three versions as to how Mangaldan got its name.  The first version relates that one day a Spanish missionary inquired from one inhabitant about the name of the place in the Spanish language.  Thinking that the missionary was asking for water, the inhabitant replied “manga-alay-adan” which means “Adan is fetching”.  The second version states that Mangaldan got its name from the first native chief of the town named “Babaldan”.  The third version says that at the middle of the plaza was a big mango tree laden with fruits.  The inhabitants were free to gather the fruits but it resulted in quarreling among themselves.  The
meaning of the quarrel in the dialect is “man-nga-ngal-ngalan”.  Of these versions, anyone of them seems to justify the legendary origin of the name.

MAYOR:    MARY MARILYN DG. LAMBINO

VICE MAYOR:    PEDRO A. SURDILLA, JR.

LAND AREA:    4,847 hectares

POPULATION:    106,331

NO. OF BARANGAYS:    30

CLASSIFICATION:    1st class

TOWN FIESTA:    1st week of March

PRODUCTS:    processed meat, native cakes, bagoong/patis, cutleries