Manola
A Spanish feminine name, possibly a diminutive of Manuela or variant of Maria.
Name Census estimates that about 1 living Americans carry the first name Manola. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Manola today is around 120 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Manola births was 1913 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Manola. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Manola is about 120 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Manolas were born before 1916.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Manola. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
1
~ 1 in 342,754,338 Americans
Peak year
1913
8 babies that year
Average age
120
years old
1934 SSA rank
#4,715
Tracked since 1908
Census
Manola in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 205 people with the first name Manola, which placed it at #37,817 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
#37,817
National first-name rank
People counted
205
205 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
46.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Manola
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Manola is Hispanic at 46.8%. The next largest groups are White (22.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (17.1%). 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 Manola 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 Manola at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino46.8% · 96
- White22.4% · 46
- Asian and Pacific Islander17.1% · 35
- Black or African American11.2% · 23
- Two or more races2.0% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Popularity
Manola: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Manola from the 1900s through to the 1930s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 30 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Manola 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 Manola 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 Manola
The name Manola is believed to have its origins in Spanish and Greek cultures, tracing back to the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance period. It is a diminutive form of the Spanish name Manuela, which is derived from the Latin name Emanuela, meaning "God is with us."
In Greek, the name Manola can be traced back to the name Manolis, a derivative of the name Emmanuel, which also means "God is with us." This Greek connection suggests that the name Manola may have been influenced by both Spanish and Greek cultures, likely through trade and cultural exchange during the medieval and Renaissance periods.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Manola can be found in the 16th century Spanish novel "La Celestina" by Fernando de Rojas, where a character named Manola is mentioned. This literary reference suggests that the name was in use in Spain during the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Manola. One such figure is Manola Rodríguez (1918-2008), a Spanish dancer and choreographer who was renowned for her contributions to flamenco dance. Another example is Manola Abadal (1892-1967), a Spanish politician and feminist activist who played a significant role in the women's suffrage movement in Spain.
In the realm of literature, Manola Portillo (1918-2009) was a celebrated Spanish poet and essayist, known for her poetic works that explored themes of love, identity, and personal experiences. Additionally, Manola Cano (1918-1976) was a Spanish painter and illustrator who gained recognition for her vibrant and expressive works, particularly her portrayal of Spanish traditional dress and customs.
Lastly, Manola Millares (1908-1998) was a Spanish actress and singer who achieved great popularity in the early 20th century for her performances in Spanish cinema and theater productions, becoming a cultural icon of her time.
People
Manola + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Manola 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
Manola: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Manola?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Manola 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 342,754,338 US residents.
Is Manola a common name?
We classify Manola as "Very Rare". It ranks above 3.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 52 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Manola most popular?
The single biggest year for Manola was 1913, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Manola is about 120 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Manola in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 205 people with the name Manola, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,817 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 Manola 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 Manola?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Manola leans strongly female. 194 people counted with this name were female (93.3%), compared with 14 male bearers (6.7%). 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 Manola?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Manola is Hispanic at 46.8%. The next largest groups are White (22.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (17.1%). 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 Manola most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Manola in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.8% (96 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 Manola in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Manola a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Manola 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 Manola still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Manola 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 Manola 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 have Manola as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.