Manish
A masculine Hindu name meaning divine, spiritual, or transcendental.
Name Census estimates that about 512 living Americans carry the first name Manish. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Manish today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Manish births was 1975 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Manish. 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 Manish with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
512
~ 1 in 669,442 Americans
Peak year
1975
30 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2022 SSA rank
#13,609
Tracked since 1968
Census
Manish in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,861 people with the first name Manish, which placed it at #3,999 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
#3,999
National first-name rank
People counted
4.9K
4,861 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Manish
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Manish is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.6%) and Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Manish 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 Manish at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.8% · 4,706
- White1.6% · 77
- Two or more races0.8% · 37
- Black or African American0.5% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino0.2% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 8
Popularity
Manish: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Manish from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 195 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Manish 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 Manish during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Manishs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, Illinois, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Manish, while Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Manish
The name Manish has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language widely used in the Indian subcontinent. Manish is derived from the Sanskrit word "manas," which means mind or intellect. It is believed to have originated in ancient India, possibly during the Vedic period, which spanned from around 1500 BCE to 600 BCE.
Manish is a popular name among Hindus and is often associated with intelligence, wisdom, and a thoughtful nature. In Hindu mythology, the concept of "manas" or the mind is deeply revered, and it is considered a fundamental aspect of human existence and spiritual growth.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Manish can be found in ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, such as the Upanishads and the Puranas. These texts, which date back to around the 8th century BCE, contain references to individuals with names derived from the word "manas."
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures who bore the name Manish. One of the earliest was Manish Tiwari, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet who lived in the 10th century CE during the reign of the Pratihara dynasty in India. His works, which included translations of ancient Sanskrit texts, were highly influential in preserving and promoting the Sanskrit language and literature.
Another notable Manish was Manish Sisodia, a 16th-century Indian warrior and military commander who served under the Mughal emperor Akbar. He was known for his bravery and strategic skills on the battlefield and played a crucial role in several military campaigns during Akbar's reign.
In more recent times, Manish Pandey, an Indian cricketer born in 1989, has gained prominence as a skilled batsman and has represented India in various formats of the game. He has been part of several successful campaigns, including the 2018 Nidahas Trophy and the 2020 Asia Cup.
Manish Malhotra, born in 1966, is a celebrated Indian fashion designer known for his intricate and glamorous designs, often inspired by traditional Indian textiles and embroidery. He has dressed numerous Bollywood celebrities and has been a prominent figure in the Indian fashion industry for several decades.
Manish Arora, born in 1972, is another notable Indian fashion designer who has gained international recognition for his vibrant and eclectic designs. His collections are known for their bold colors, intricate embroidery, and fusion of traditional Indian elements with contemporary styles. Arora has showcased his work at various prestigious fashion events worldwide.
People
Manish + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Manish 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
Manish: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Manish?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 512 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Manish 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 669,442 US residents.
Is Manish a common name?
We classify Manish as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 537 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Manish most popular?
The single biggest year for Manish was 1975, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Manish is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Manish in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,861 people with the name Manish, or 1.61 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,999 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 Manish 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 Manish?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Manish appears almost entirely male. Of the 4,856 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Manish?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Manish is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.6%) and Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Manish most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Manish in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.8% (4,706 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 Manish in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Manish a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Manish 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 Manish still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Manish 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 Manish 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 named Manish?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.