Manuel
Feminine · “God is with us”
Manuel is given to boys far more often — 191,584 boys against 1,158 girls since 1880. See Manuel as a boy name
The name is a sign given to a king who did not want one. Told to ask for a sign and refusing, the king is given one anyway: a child will be born and called God-with-us, and by the time he is old enough to tell right from wrong the countries frightening you will be gone.
How old is the name Manuel?
Manuel first appears in US birth records in 1916 — 109 years ago. The typical Manuel alive today was born around 1967, making them about 58 years old. About 800 people named Manuel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Manuel most popular?
Manuel peaked in 1934, reaching #1697 nationally. See the whole 1934 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Immanuel to Manuel
The story of Manuel
The Portuguese king of this name presided over the moment his small country briefly ran the world's trade. The fleets sent out during his reign reached India, Brazil and China; the wealth that came back paid for a style of architecture so distinctive that it is named after him, all twisted stone ropes, knots, anchors and sea creatures carved onto Gothic buildings, which is what happens when a nation of sailors is suddenly rich. He also expelled or forcibly converted the country's Jews, having inherited a population that had just fled Spain for exactly that reason. Both things are his and the buildings are still standing.
Meaning
God is with us
Hebrew immanu, with us, and el, God. The full form is Emmanuel and this is the shortened one used across the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking world, where it has been an ordinary name for centuries rather than a solemn one. The shortening removes the first element and keeps the divine one.
How the name formed
- Immanuel
- Emmanuel
- Manuel
Related forms: Manuel · Manuel · Manuele · Emanuel
Pronouncing Manuel
man-WEL
Two syllables with the stress at the back in Spanish and Portuguese, where the u and the e run together. English speakers often give it three, MAN-yoo-el, which is understood without difficulty.
Nicknames for Manuel
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
- 1916
- Most girls named
- 197728 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1697reached in 1934
- Change vs 2002
- −37.5%5 in 2022, from 8
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.
Manuel in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Manuel in Spanish — same name
- Manuel in Portuguese — same name
- Manuele in Italian — same name
- Emanuel in German — related form
Manuels among us
people named Manuel are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Manuel sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is spelled identically in Spanish and Portuguese and recognizable everywhere else.
- Manny and Manolo are two short forms in completely different registers.
- The meaning is clear, warm and can be given to a child in three words.
- The record carries it for girls in small numbers, so it is not quite an absolute signal.
- English and Spanish give it different syllable counts, so it has to be introduced.
- For British readers of a certain age it is attached to one comic television character.
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What they receive
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Manuel
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Manuels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Manuel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Manuel in 2025?
- Manuel is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Manuel with classmates?
- Manuel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More M names
The most-given names starting with M, all years combined.
Mary#125 · Margaret#112 · Michelle#465 · Melissa#419 · Maria#87 · Martha#712 · Marie#617 · Mildred#1962
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Manuel? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Manuel and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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