About Mensa

Mensa was founded in Great Britain in 1946 by two English barristers, Roland Berrill and Dr. Lionel Ware. Mensa is an international society whose only qualification for membership is a score in the top 2 percent of the general population on a standardized intelligence test. The word mensa means "table" in Latin; similarly, mens means "mind" and mensis means "month."  The name "Mensa" is reminiscent of "mind, table, month," which suggests a monthly meeting of great minds around a table.

Mensans are all ages and come from all walks of life. Internationally, the organization has 100,000 members in more than 100 countries. The host country for the World Gathering 2006, American Mensa, has more than 52,000 members.