How common is the name Manuel?

240,816 people in the United States have the first name Manuel, about 1 in 1,254. It ranks #233 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

MANUEL

#233

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
240,816
About
1 in 1,254
This common or more
44.3%
Who bears it

Of the 240,816 people named Manuel, 88.6% reported their origin as Hispanic or Latino, 6.6% as White and 2.5% as Asian or Pacific Islander. Virtually all are male (99.8%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Manuel peaked in 2005, when 2,665 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
2005
Births that year
2,665
In 2025*
860 ▼68%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 192,742 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Manuel by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1920s, when it ranked #269. The largest share of babies named Manuel, 18.4%, were born between 1981 and 1996, as millennials.

1880s#384802
1890s#442952
1900s#3671,751
1910s#3048,395
1920s#26915,788
1930s#30212,451
1940s#32614,283
1950s#37216,474
1960s#38316,164
1970s#31517,905
1980s#29520,180
1990s#27624,308
2000s#31923,469
2010s#50613,869
2020s#6675,951
Before 19011%
Greatest Generation 1901–2711.6%
Silent Generation 1928–4512.2%
Baby boom 1946–6416.2%
Generation X 1965–8014.4%
Millennials 1981–9618.4%
Generation Z 1997–1218.3%
2013 and later7.8%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Manuel is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Manuel has been most common in New Mexico (7.5×), Arizona (4.8×), and Texas (3.2×), and least common in Minnesota (0.09×).

184,654 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Manuel

#231 Isaac · 242,217#232 Adrian · 241,093#234 Lawrence · 240,687#235 Cindy · 240,226

Spelled almost the same

6 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Manuel, most common first.

#1,491 Manuela · 22,516#5,661 Manual · 2,983#22,077 Manoel · 454#24,147 Manel · 401#36,086 Mannuel · 221#47,034 Manul · 140

Also a last name

As a last name, Manuel ranks #1,288 of 156,621, with 26,670 people. See Manuel as a last name

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