Amanuel
Masculine · “God with us”
Amanuel is the Ethiopian and Eritrean form of Emmanuel, and the Hebrew phrase behind it is one of the most quoted in the Bible: God with us. The Ge'ez tradition received it directly rather than through Greek and Latin, which is why the form looks unfamiliar to European eyes. Its American peak is 2018.
How old is the name Amanuel?
Amanuel first appears in US birth records in 1987 — 38 years ago. The typical Amanuel is a kid of about 12 — this name's wave is very recent. About 600 people named Amanuel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Amanuel most popular?
Amanuel peaked in 2018, reaching #2943 nationally. Today it ranks #6143, 3,200 places below that high. See the whole 2018 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Immanu'el to Amanuel
The story of Amanuel
Ethiopian Christianity dates to the fourth century and developed its own scriptural text in Ge'ez, a Semitic language closely related to Hebrew. Names entering that tradition took Ge'ez forms directly, without the Greek and Latin intermediaries that shaped European versions: Yohannes for John, Mariam for Mary, Amanuel for Emmanuel. The Eritrean Orthodox and Ethiopian Orthodox churches have kept these forms in continuous use. American records show Amanuel rising from the 1990s and peaking in 2018, tracking Ethiopian and Eritrean resettlement in Washington, Minnesota and Virginia.
Meaning
God with us
Hebrew Immanu'el joins immanu, 'with us', to el, 'God' — a complete two-word sentence used as a name. It appears in Isaiah as the name of a child whose birth is a sign, and Matthew quotes that passage in the nativity narrative, which is why the name carries the weight it does in Christian tradition. The Ethiopian form drops the initial vowel and the doubled m. The derivation is settled.
How the name formed
- Immanu'el
- Emmanuel
- Amanuel
Related forms: Amanuel · Amanuel · Emmanuel · Imanuil
Pronouncing Amanuel
ah-MAH-noo-el
Four syllables, stress on the second, with all vowels sounded. English speakers often substitute Emmanuel or say am-AN-yoo-el. The Ethiopian saying keeps the vowels separate and clean.
Nicknames for Amanuel
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1987
- Most boys named
- 201840 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2943reached in 2018
- Change vs 2024
- +7.7%14 in 2025, from 13
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Amanuel in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Amanuel in Tigrinya — same name
- Amanuel in Amharic — same name
- Emmanuel in English — related form
- Imanuil in Arabic — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Virginia, Maryland, Georgia.
Amanuels among us
people named Amanuel are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 122,005 born in 2025 was named Amanuel
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Amanuel
- #6143
- Amanuel on the 2025 chart
- #908
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Amanuel went to 14 boys in 2025, but Ammanuel is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 20, which makes it the 908th most-given boys’ name of the year — 5,235 places above the chart.
- Amanuel14
- Ammanuel6
About 1 boy in 85,404 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 122,005 for Amanuel itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Jalani test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Amanuel's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Jalani climbed just as high around 2002, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Jalani's path sketches the road Amanuel is walking now.
Amanuel sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Amanuel beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Amanuel in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled, resonant and expressible in three words.
- Aman, Manu and Manny give it short forms across several traditions.
- Emmanuel is available as a more familiar equivalent in English-speaking settings.
- It will be written Emmanuel by most Americans taking it down.
- Four syllables is long for everyday use, so a short form is effectively required.
- It has a clear religious frame, which is a strength or a consideration depending on the family.
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What they receive
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Amanuel
Masculine · #6143 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Amanuels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Amanuel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Amanuel?
- Amanuel is the most-used spelling in US records — 14 of the 20 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Ammanuel.
- How popular is the name Amanuel in 2025?
- Amanuel ranks #6143 among US boy names in 2025, with 14 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Amanuel?
- About 1 in every 122,005 US boys born in 2025 was named Amanuel — 14 in all.
- Will my child share the name Amanuel with classmates?
- Amanuel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Amanuel
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ruel#6143 · Cornell#6143 · Vasco#6143 · Kemper#6143 · Yates#6143 · Roark#6143 · Raja#6143 · Orville#6143
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Amanuel? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Amanuel and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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