Manuel — #351 US boys' name
190,712 babies named Manuel in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2005. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
More common than 98% of names given to boys today.
13% of everyone ever named Manuel was born in this single decade.
2,665 babies were named Manuel in 2005 — its busiest year on record.
What the Data Says About Manuel
The Social Security Administration has registered 190,712 babies named Manuel between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Manuel currently holds the #351 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 2005, when 2,665 babies received it in a single year.
Decade-level aggregation shows that Manuel performed strongest in the 1990s, accumulating 24,174 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Manuel shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 54,890 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Texas and New York. In total, SSA state-level files list Manuel in 45 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.
No etymological entry is currently available for Manuel in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 190,712 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.
Manuel at a glance
Top 1,000 boys' namePeak year
Current rank
Active since
Manuel popularity over time — boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (2005)
- 2,665
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #351 among boys.
190,712 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 2005 with 2,665 births in a single year.
Manuel popularity over time — girls
1,158 total births recorded since 1916 (Manuel as girls' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The girls' variant of Manuel accounts for 1% of total recorded use across both genders.
Manuel by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 1990s
- 24,174 births that decade — 13% of Manuel's all-time total
Manuel decade highlights
- Peak decade 24,174 births
- Runner-up 23,442 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
1990s was Manuel's strongest decade
24,174 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 13% of all-time use.
Manuel by state
Where Manuel concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 54,890 | 28.8% |
| #2 | Texas | | 45,508 | 23.9% |
| #3 | New York | | 11,159 | 5.9% |
| #4 | Arizona | | 10,871 | 5.7% |
| #5 | New Mexico | | 7,517 | 3.9% |
| #6 | Florida | | 6,046 | 3.2% |
| #7 | Illinois | | 5,905 | 3.1% |
| #8 | Massachusetts | | 5,393 | 2.8% |
54,890 of 190,712 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 45 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- California 28.8% of nationwide
- Texas 23.9% of nationwide
- New York 5.9% of nationwide
- Arizona 5.7% of nationwide
- New Mexico 3.9% of nationwide
Recorded in 45 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
California accounts for 28.8% of all recorded births nationwide — a strong regional concentration for this name.
Manuel appears in 45 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Data Sources
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.