Manami
A Japanese feminine name meaning "love, affection, beautiful waves".
Name Census estimates that about 108 living Americans carry the first name Manami. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Manami today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Manami births was 2003 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Manami. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
108
~ 1 in 3,173,651 Americans
Peak year
2003
11 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2018 SSA rank
#14,985
Tracked since 1990
Census
Manami in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 475 people with the first name Manami, which placed it at #21,400 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#21,400
National first-name rank
People counted
475
475 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
83.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Manami
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Manami is Asian/Pacific Islander at 83.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.0%) and White (3.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Manami described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Manami at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander83.2% · 395
- Two or more races8.0% · 38
- White3.4% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 16
- Black or African American1.5% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 3
Popularity
Manami: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Manami from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 42 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Manami remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Manami by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Manami during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Manami
The name Manami is of Japanese origin, deriving from the combination of two words: "mana" meaning truth or reality, and "mi" meaning beautiful or elegant. It is believed to have originated during the Heian period (794-1185 CE) in Japan, a time of great cultural and artistic flourishing.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Manami can be found in the Genji Monogatari, a classic work of Japanese literature from the early 11th century. The name is mentioned as belonging to a character described as a woman of exceptional beauty and grace.
In the 12th century, a renowned Buddhist nun named Manami Dori became influential in Kyoto for her teachings and writings on Zen philosophy. Her works are still studied and revered by Buddhist scholars today.
During the Edo period (1603-1868 CE), the name Manami gained popularity among the samurai class. Notably, Manami Yoshinori (1564-1628) was a respected daimyo (feudal lord) who played a significant role in the Siege of Osaka Castle, a pivotal event in the unification of Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate.
Another historical figure bearing the name Manami was Manami Akiko (1888-1964), a pioneering Japanese feminist and writer. She was a vocal advocate for women's rights and education, and her works helped shape the modern feminist movement in Japan.
In the 20th century, Manami Matsumura (1922-2011) was a renowned Japanese printmaker and artist, known for her intricate woodblock prints depicting traditional Japanese themes and landscapes. Her works are held in numerous prestigious collections worldwide.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have carried the name Manami, a name that reflects the Japanese appreciation for truth, beauty, and elegance.
People
Manami + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Manami as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Manami: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Manami?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 108 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Manami going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 3,173,651 US residents.
Is Manami a common name?
We classify Manami as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 110 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Manami most popular?
The single biggest year for Manami was 2003, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Manami is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Manami in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 475 people with the name Manami, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,400 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Manami in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Manami?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Manami appears almost entirely female. Of the 468 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Manami?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Manami is Asian/Pacific Islander at 83.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.0%) and White (3.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Manami most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Manami in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.2% (395 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Manami in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Manami a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Manami in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Manami still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Manami in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Manami can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Manami?
You can see how many people have the name Manami on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.