Menaal
A feminine Arabic name meaning "precious" or "valuable".
Name Census estimates that about 176 living Americans carry the first name Menaal. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Menaal today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Menaal births was 2015 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Menaal. 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 Menaal with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
176
~ 1 in 1,947,468 Americans
Peak year
2015
26 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2022 SSA rank
#13,119
Tracked since 2006
Popularity
Menaal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Menaal from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 138 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Menaal 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 Menaal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Menaals live
Origin
Meaning and history of Menaal
The name Menaal is of Arabic origin, derived from the root word "na'ala," which means "to adorn" or "to beautify." It is believed to have originated in the Middle East during the medieval period, around the 7th to 13th centuries CE.
One of the earliest historical references to the name Menaal can be found in ancient Arabic poetry and literature. It was often used as a symbolic name, representing beauty and grace. In some Islamic texts, Menaal is mentioned as a descriptive term for the crescent moon, which was considered a symbol of elegance and serenity.
The earliest recorded use of the name Menaal dates back to the 9th century CE. One notable figure was Menaal bint Ismail, a renowned Andalusian poet and scholar who lived in Cordoba, Spain, during the Umayyad period. Her poetry celebrated the beauty of nature and the human experience, and she was highly regarded for her literary contributions.
In the 12th century, Menaal al-Qayrawan was a renowned Islamic scholar and jurist from North Africa. She was known for her expertise in Maliki jurisprudence and her contributions to the study of Islamic law. Her legacy inspired many scholars and students of Islamic knowledge.
During the Ottoman Empire, Menaal Pasha was a prominent military commander and governor who served in various regions of the empire in the 16th century. He was known for his strategic military campaigns and his efforts to maintain order and stability in the territories under his governance.
In more recent history, Menaal Al-Mousawi was a celebrated Iraqi writer and poet who lived in the 20th century. She was renowned for her poetic works that explored themes of love, loss, and the human condition. Her poetry was widely read and admired in the Arab literary world.
Another notable figure was Menaal Al-Saadawi, an Egyptian writer, activist, and physician who was a prominent figure in the feminist movement in the Arab world. Born in 1931, she wrote extensively about women's rights, social oppression, and the importance of gender equality. Her works, including novels and non-fiction books, had a significant impact on shaping the discourse around women's issues in the region.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Menaal throughout history, reflecting its rich cultural heritage and the diverse contributions of those who bore this name across various fields and eras.
People
Menaal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Menaal 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
Menaal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Menaal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 176 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Menaal 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 1,947,468 US residents.
Is Menaal a common name?
We classify Menaal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 177 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Menaal most popular?
The single biggest year for Menaal was 2015, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Menaal is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Menaal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Menaal a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Menaal 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 Menaal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Menaal 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 Menaal 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Menaal?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.