Manuel

Meaning: God is with us
Origin: Spanish/Portuguese (from Hebrew via Spanish and Portuguese)

Boy's name · #371 in the US (2025) · Timeless

Popularity over time

Manuel holds its lane: charted since 1880 and rarely far from where it stands today (#371 in 2025). About 192,000 boys have carried it along the way. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Across the states

See where Manuel is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 38 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

Manuel is especially popular in Spain.

#6 in Spain (2024) · #66 in Mexico (2024) · #92 in Austria (2025) · #160 in Netherlands (2025) · #174 in Switzerland (2025) · #180 in Ecuador (2025) · #217 in Slovenia (2025) · #231 in Puerto Rico (2025) · #343 in Poland (2025) · #634 in Ireland (2025) · #824 in Belgium (2025) · #1,050 in England & Wales (2025) and 3 more.

Famous Manuels

Manuel Neuer — German association football player
Manuel Valls — French and Spanish politician
Manuel I Komnenos — Byzantine Emperor
Manuel Noriega — Panamanian head of state (1934–2017)
Manuel Azaña — Prime minister of Spain, president of Spain (1880–1940)

In stories & tradition

Manuel — Fawlty Towers (TV series)
Manuel Aringarosa^sv — The Da Vinci Code (book)
Manuel Estrada — Lady, Be Good! (musical stage work)

What Manuels become

Among 10,273 notable people named Manuel:

Military figures appear 2.24× more often than among typical names — e.g. Manuel Belgrano, Argentine politician and military leader.

Similar names: Manolo · Raymond · Martin · Ramon · Emanuel · Russell

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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