Manal
Feminine · “attainment”
Manal is the Arabic word for attainment — the thing reached for and got. It is a name about achievement rather than a quality given at birth.
How old is the name Manal?
Manal first appears in US birth records in 1967 — 58 years ago. The typical Manal alive today was born around 2005, making them about 20 years old. About 1,400 people named Manal are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Manal most popular?
Manal peaked in 2021, reaching #3002 nationally. Today it ranks #3780, 778 places below that high. See the whole 2021 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Manal
The root n-y-l runs through Arabic in words for reaching and obtaining, and manal is the noun for the thing got. It has been a women's name across the Arab world since the twentieth century, particularly in Egypt and the Levant, and it reaches American records with families from those countries. It is short, plain and unusual in naming an outcome rather than a virtue.
Meaning
attainment, achievement
From an Arabic root meaning to obtain or reach; manal names what is attained, and the same root gives Nailah and Nail their sense of one who attains.
Pronouncing Manal
mah-NAAL
Two syllables with the stress on the long second. English speakers often say MAN-al.
Nicknames for Manal
Moderate
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
- 1967
- Most girls named
- 200547 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3002reached in 2021
- Change vs 2024
- +2.6%39 in 2025, from 38
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.
Manal in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Manaal in Arabic — transliteration
- Manal in Urdu — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Minnesota, California, Ohio.
Manals among us
people named Manal are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 41,212 born in 2025 was named Manal
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Manal
- #3780
- Manal on the 2025 chart
- #909
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Manal went to 39 girls in 2025, but Manaal is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 51, which makes it the 909th most-given girls’ name of the year — 2,871 places above the chart.
- Manal39
- Manaal12
About 1 girl in 31,515 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 41,212 for Manal 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 Damara test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Manal's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Damara climbed just as high around 1980, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Damara's path sketches the road Manal is walking now.
Manal 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
Where Manal is headed
Manal should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Manal beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Manal in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning that names an achievement rather than a quality.
- Five letters and two syllables, easy to write and to say.
- Recognized across the Arab world.
- The stress moves to the front in English mouths.
- It is close to Manar and Manar in an English ear, which are separate names.
- Manal and Manaal are both used and the doubled a marks a long vowel.
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Manal
Feminine · #3780 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Manals are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,400 people named Manal are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Manal?
- Manal is the most-used spelling in US records — 39 of the 51 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Manaal.
- How popular is the name Manal in 2025?
- Manal ranks #3780 among US girl names in 2025, with 39 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Manal?
- About 1 in every 41,212 US girls born in 2025 was named Manal — 39 in all.
- Will my child share the name Manal with classmates?
- Manal will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Manal
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Kimberlyn#3780 · Jonah#3780 · Aine#3780 · Jakayla#3780 · Shriya#3780 · Analeigh#3780 · Daliyah#3780 · Jamia#3780
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Manal? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Manal and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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