Manuel
Meaning
“God is with us; an enduring Spain classic, still top 20 generations later”
Goes by Manny, Manolo
The story
Manuel is Emmanuel worn to daily strength, God is with us at the root, and the ledger owes a correction of rank: Francisco's story, told earlier tonight, held the crown of largest Hispanic classic through twelve batches. Manuel outranks it. About 191,000 American boys across the record, against Francisco's 142,000, on the same community staircase: five figures every single decade from the 1920s through the 2010s, cresting at 24,300 in the 1990s, with 6,000 so far this decade, effectively all boys. Our meaning records note it remains top twenty in Spain generations on. Manny and Manolo do the everyday work, as our nickname fiche says. In our records: 190,800 boys to 1,200 girls. A name meaning God-with-us that has never once left five figures in an American century: the theology and the ledger, for once, agree completely.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Manuel peaked in the 2000s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure.
Popularity in Brazil
172,986 people · the #191 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 1,174 · median age 57
Among people named Manuel living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 2,639 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Manuel
People given the name Manuel in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1960 to 2009. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Manuel deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Manuel truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Manuel fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Manuel travels
Mexican American · God is with us (Spanish form of Immanuel); common among earlier generations, still warmly used
Filipino · God is with us (Spanish colonial classic)
Keep exploring
Nicknames for Manuel · Spanish baby names from Spain · Spanish baby names · Filipino baby names · Filipino American baby names · Mexican American baby names
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