Manav
A masculine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "human being" or "man".
Name Census estimates that about 730 living Americans carry the first name Manav. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Manav today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Manav births was 2000 (65 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Manav. 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
730
~ 1 in 469,526 Americans
Peak year
2000
65 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,793
Tracked since 1993
Popularity
Manav: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Manav from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 432 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Manav 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 Manav during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Manavs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, New Jersey, New York recorded the most babies named Manav, while Massachusetts, Texas, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 38 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Manav
The name Manav originated from the Sanskrit language, which is one of the oldest languages in the world, dating back to the 2nd millennium BCE. It is derived from the word "manava," which means "human being" or "man." This name has its roots in the ancient Indian culture and can be traced back to the Vedic period, around 1500 BCE.
The name Manav has been mentioned in various Hindu scriptures and texts, such as the Upanishads and the Puranas. In these ancient texts, the word "manava" is used to refer to the human race or mankind in general, as well as to specific individuals or characters.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Manav can be found in the Mahabharata, the ancient Indian epic poem. The character Manav, also known as Manu, is depicted as the progenitor of the human race and the first man created by the Hindu god Brahma.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Manav. One of the most famous was Manav Dharma Sutra, an ancient Indian scholar and lawgiver who lived around the 1st century BCE. He is known for his work on Hindu law and ethics, which formed the basis of the Dharma Shastras.
Another notable bearer of the name was Manav Gangadhar Tilak, an Indian mathematician and astronomer who lived in the 16th century CE. He is credited with developing a method for calculating the values of sine and cosine tables, as well as contributing to the field of astronomy.
In the modern era, Manav Sawhney was an Indian businessman and entrepreneur who founded the successful IT services company, Infosys, in 1981. He served as the company's CEO until 2014 and played a significant role in the growth of the Indian IT industry.
Manav Gohil was an Indian cricketer who played for the Indian national team in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was a left-arm spinner and was known for his economical bowling during his international career.
Manav Kaul is a contemporary Indian actor and director who has appeared in numerous Bollywood films and television shows. He is also known for his work in independent and art-house cinema, and has received critical acclaim for his performances.
People
Manav + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Manav 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
Manav: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Manav?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 730 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Manav 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 469,526 US residents.
Is Manav a common name?
We classify Manav as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 739 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Manav most popular?
The single biggest year for Manav was 2000, when 65 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Manav is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Manav a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Manav in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.