Manu
A masculine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "thinker" or "man".
Name Census estimates that about 667 living Americans carry the first name Manu. It is a predominantly male name (99.3% of registrations). The average person named Manu today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Manu births was 2006 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Manu. 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
667
~ 1 in 513,875 Americans
Peak year
2006
27 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,352
Tracked since 1972
Gender
Gender distribution for Manu
Out of the 682 babies given the name Manu since 1880, 99.3% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Manu as a male name
- Ranked #5,352 in 2024
- 18 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2006 (27 births)
Manu as a female name
- Ranked #14,923 in 1996
- 5 female births in 1996
- Peak: 1996 (5 births)
Popularity
Manu: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Manu from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 177 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Manu remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Manu 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 Manu during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Manus live
Origin
Meaning and history of Manu
The name Manu has its origins in ancient Sanskrit, one of the oldest languages in the world, dating back to around the 2nd millennium BCE. In Sanskrit, the word "Manu" means "the forefather of humankind" or "the first man". It is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit root "man", which means "to think".
Manu is a prominent figure in Hindu mythology and is mentioned in several ancient texts, including the Vedas and the Puranas. According to Hindu scriptures, Manu was the progenitor of the human race and the first king to rule over the earth after the great flood. He is revered as a lawgiver and the author of the Manusmriti, an ancient legal text that codified the laws and social norms of ancient Indian society.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Manu can be found in the Rigveda, one of the oldest and most sacred Hindu scriptures, which dates back to around 1500-1200 BCE. The Rigveda mentions Manu as the son of Vivasvat, the sun god, and the father of the human race.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Manu. One of the most famous was Manu Needhi, an Indian mathematician and astronomer who lived in the 5th century CE. He is credited with writing the Manu Samhita, a treatise on astronomy and astrology.
Another prominent figure with the name Manu was Manu Chao, a French singer-songwriter of Spanish descent, born in 1961. He is known for his fusion of various musical genres, including reggae, ska, and Latin folk.
In ancient Egyptian mythology, there was a figure known as Manu-Hotep, who was believed to be the first king of Egypt and the founder of the city of Memphis. He is often associated with the god Ra and is believed to have lived around 3100 BCE.
Manu Ginobili, an Argentine professional basketball player, born in 1977, is another notable individual with this name. He played for the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA and won four NBA championships with the team.
Manu Samoa is the name given to the national rugby union team of Samoa. The name is a nod to the country's cultural heritage and the revered figure of Manu in Polynesian mythology.
People
Manu + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Manu 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
Manu: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Manu?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 667 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Manu 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 513,875 US residents.
Is Manu a common name?
We classify Manu as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 682 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Manu most popular?
The single biggest year for Manu was 2006, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Manu is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Manu a male name?
Yes, 99.3% of people registered as Manu 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.