Mani
A masculine name of Persian origin meaning "jewel" or "precious stone".
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the first name Mani. It is a predominantly male name (92.0% of registrations). The average person named Mani today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mani births was 2023 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mani. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Mani with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
123
~ 1 in 2,786,621 Americans
Peak year
2023
13 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,436
Tracked since 1991
Census
Mani in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,895 people with the first name Mani, which placed it at #7,852 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
#7,852
National first-name rank
People counted
1.9K
1,895 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
58.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mani
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mani is Asian/Pacific Islander at 58.8%. The next largest groups are White (21.7%) and Black (9.2%). 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 Mani 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 Mani at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander58.8% · 1,114
- White21.7% · 411
- Black or African American9.2% · 174
- Hispanic or Latino5.6% · 107
- Two or more races4.4% · 83
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Mani
Mani leans heavily male at 92.0% of total registrations, but 10 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Mani as a male name
- Ranked #9,436 in 2023
- 8 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2006 (12 births)
Mani as a female name
- Ranked #16,708 in 2023
- 5 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2005 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mani on both sides of the split. Of the 1,888 people counted with this name, 1,251 were male (66.3%) and 637 were female (33.7%).
Popularity
Mani: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mani 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 44 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Mani remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mani 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 Mani 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 Mani
Mani is a given name with origins tracing back to ancient Sanskrit and Pali languages. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "mani," meaning "gem" or "jewel." The name has been used across various cultures and regions, particularly in South Asia and parts of Southeast Asia.
The earliest known usage of the name Mani can be found in ancient Hindu and Buddhist texts, where it was often associated with precious stones or spiritual enlightenment. In Hinduism, the term "mani" is frequently used to refer to sacred beads or gemstones used in religious practices and rituals.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Mani was the Persian prophet and founder of Manichaeism, a gnostic religion that spread across parts of the ancient world. Mani, also known as Manes or Manichaeus, lived between 216 and 276 CE and taught a dualistic cosmological doctrine that influenced various religious and philosophical movements.
In Buddhism, the name Mani has been associated with several notable figures. One such figure was Mani Kabum, a Tibetan Buddhist scholar and translator who lived in the 11th century CE. He played a significant role in the translation and preservation of Buddhist texts in Tibet.
Another historical figure with the name Mani was Mani Neugebauer, a German-Austrian mathematician and astronomer who lived from 1899 to 1988. He made significant contributions to the study of ancient Babylonian astronomy and the development of modern celestial mechanics.
The name Mani has also been used by various poets and writers throughout history. One notable example is Mani Kaul, an Indian filmmaker, and screenwriter who lived from 1944 to 2014. He was known for his avant-garde and experimental films, and his works were widely acclaimed both in India and internationally.
In ancient Tamil literature, the name Mani appears in the form of "Manikkavachakar," which refers to a revered Hindu saint and poet who lived in the 9th century CE. His works, known as the "Thiruvachakam," are considered among the most important literary and spiritual works in the Tamil language.
While the name Mani has been used across various cultures and regions, its origins can be traced back to the ancient Sanskrit and Pali languages, where it was closely associated with precious gems, enlightenment, and spiritual significance.
People
Mani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mani 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
Mani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 123 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mani 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 2,786,621 US residents.
Is Mani a common name?
We classify Mani as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 125 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mani most popular?
The single biggest year for Mani was 2023, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mani is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mani in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,895 people with the name Mani, or 0.63 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,852 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 Mani 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 Mani?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mani on both sides of the split. Of the 1,888 people counted with this name, 1,251 were male (66.3%) and 637 were female (33.7%). 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 Mani?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mani is Asian/Pacific Islander at 58.8%. The next largest groups are White (21.7%) and Black (9.2%). 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 Mani most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Mani in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.8% (1,114 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 Mani in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mani a male name?
Yes, 92.0% of people registered as Mani 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.
Is Mani still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mani 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 Mani 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 Americans are named Mani?
See how many people share the name Mani on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.