Menashe
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "one who causes to forget".
Name Census estimates that about 409 living Americans carry the first name Menashe. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Menashe today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Menashe births was 2014 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Menashe. 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
409
~ 1 in 838,030 Americans
Peak year
2014
24 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,809
Tracked since 1978
Popularity
Menashe: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Menashe from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 157 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Menashe remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Menashe 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 Menashe during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Menashes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Menashe
The name Menashe is a Hebrew name with a rich historical and cultural significance. It is derived from the Hebrew name Manasseh, which means "he who causes to forget" or "one who brings forgetfulness." The name traces its roots back to the biblical figure Manasseh, the eldest son of Joseph and Asenath in the book of Genesis.
In the Old Testament, Manasseh was one of the twelve tribes of Israel, and his name was given to him by Joseph to symbolize that God had made him forget all his hardships and his father's household. The tribe of Manasseh settled in the region west of the Jordan River, and the name became a popular choice among Jewish families throughout the centuries.
The name Menashe has been recorded in various historical texts and documents, including the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, and other Jewish religious writings. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name can be found in the book of Numbers, where Manasseh is listed as one of the leaders of the Israelite tribes.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Menashe. One of the most famous was Menashe ben Israel (1604-1657), a Dutch Jewish scholar, writer, and diplomat who played a pivotal role in promoting the readmission of Jews to England after their expulsion in 1290.
Another notable figure was Menashe ben Joseph ben Israel (1604-1657), a Dutch-Jewish philosopher and rabbi who made significant contributions to the study of Jewish law and philosophy. He is best known for his work "Nishmat Hayyim" (The Soul of Life), a treatise on the immortality of the soul.
In the 18th century, Menashe Ilyer-Unterman (1723-1805) was a renowned Russian-Jewish scholar and author who wrote extensively on Jewish law and ethics. His works, including "Shaarei Teshuvah" (Gates of Repentance), were widely studied and influential in Jewish communities.
Menashe Mendi Mocher Sforim (1836-1924) was a Polish-Jewish rabbi and author who gained fame for his work "Chiddushei Agadot" (Novellae on the Aggadah), a commentary on the non-legal portions of the Talmud.
In more recent times, Menashe Kadishman (1932-2015) was an Israeli sculptor and painter known for his large-scale installations and public artworks, many of which featured sheep motifs.
People
Menashe + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Menashe 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
Menashe: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Menashe?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 409 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Menashe 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 838,030 US residents.
Is Menashe a common name?
We classify Menashe as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 415 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Menashe most popular?
The single biggest year for Menashe was 2014, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Menashe is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Menashe a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Menashe 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.