Manuela
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "God is with us".
Name Census estimates that about 5,457 living Americans carry the first name Manuela. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Manuela today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Manuela births was 1924 (202 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Manuela. 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
5.5K
~ 1 in 62,810 Americans
Peak year
1924
202 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
1932 SSA rank
#2,121
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Manuela
Out of the 10,996 babies given the name Manuela since 1880, 99.7% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Manuela as a male name
- Ranked #4,099 in 1932
- 5 male births in 1932
- Peak: 1931 (7 births)
Manuela as a female name
- Ranked #2,121 in 2024
- 90 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1924 (202 births)
Popularity
Manuela: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Manuela from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 1,912 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Manuela 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 Manuela during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Manuelas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Manuela, while Virginia, Tennessee, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 506 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Manuela
Manuela is a feminine given name of Spanish origin, derived from the Latin name Emanuela, which itself stems from the Hebrew name Immanu'el, meaning "God is with us". The name's roots can be traced back to the biblical figure of Emmanuel, mentioned in the Old Testament.
The earliest recorded use of the name Manuela dates back to the Middle Ages, where it was fairly common among Spanish and Portuguese populations. It gained particular popularity in the Iberian Peninsula during the 16th and 17th centuries, a time when Spain and Portugal were major global powers.
One of the earliest notable figures to bear the name was Manuela de Saldanha (1528-1597), a Portuguese noblewoman and lady-in-waiting to the Queen of Portugal. Another early prominent bearer of the name was Manuela Girón (1556-1620), a Spanish countess and one of the wealthiest women of her time.
In the 18th century, Manuela Malasaña (1808-1808) became a symbol of Spanish resistance against the Napoleonic invasion, after she was executed for her involvement in the uprising against French occupation. Her name and legacy lived on as a symbol of Spanish patriotism.
The 19th century saw the rise of Manuela Sáenz (1797-1856), a revolutionary and companion of the South American liberation hero Simón Bolívar. She played a crucial role in Bolívar's military campaigns and is celebrated as a feminist icon in Latin America.
In the world of literature, Manuela Rosas (1856-1938) was a renowned Chilean poet and educator, known for her works celebrating the natural beauty of her homeland. Her poetry collections, such as "Crisálidas", were widely acclaimed and influential in Latin American literature.
People
Manuela + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Manuela 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
Manuela: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Manuela?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,457 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Manuela 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 62,810 US residents.
Is Manuela a common name?
We classify Manuela as "Rare". It ranks above 96.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10,996 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Manuela most popular?
The single biggest year for Manuela was 1924, when 202 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Manuela is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Manuela a female name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Manuela 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.
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.