2000
#11,321
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,561
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.95
Rare Last name
Manus
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Manuis," meaning "descendant of Manus," a personal name meaning "great" or "large."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,607 Americans carry the last name Manus. That puts it at #12,925 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 131,475 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Manus surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 131,475
Census rank
#12,925
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,273 bearers of the surname Manus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12925th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Manus, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.5%) and Two or More Races (5.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Manus
The surname Manus originated in Ireland, where it was first recorded in the 12th century. It is derived from the Irish Gaelic word "manus," which means "hand" or "tongs." This name is believed to have been originally a nickname for a person with a distinctive or skilled hand.
In early Irish records, the name was sometimes spelled as "Manuis" or "Mannus." One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, where a person named Manus O'Cahan is mentioned in the year 1199.
The Manus surname was particularly prevalent in the northern counties of Ireland, such as Donegal and Derry. It was also found in parts of Scotland, where some Irish families had settled. One notable historical figure with this surname was Manus O'Donnell (c. 1532-1563), an Irish chieftain and leader of the O'Donnell clan in Donegal.
In the 16th century, a branch of the Manus family migrated to County Antrim, where they adopted the anglicized spelling "Manus." This version of the name can be found in various records from that time period, including the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, a collection of government documents from the reign of the Tudor monarchs in England and Ireland.
Another notable figure with the Manus surname was Sir John Manus (c. 1590-1649), an Irish lawyer and Member of Parliament who was involved in the Irish Confederate Wars. He was a prominent landowner in County Antrim and played a significant role in the political affairs of his time.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Manus surname spread further across Ireland and beyond. One example is John Manus (1788-1859), an Irish-born writer and journalist who immigrated to the United States and became a prominent figure in the literary circles of New York City.
Throughout its history, the Manus surname has been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Manusmore and Manusfields, which are derived from the original Gaelic form of the name. While not as widely distributed as some other Irish surnames, Manus has left its mark on the historical records and cultural heritage of Ireland and the Irish diaspora.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Manus
Among Census respondents with the surname Manus, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.5%) and Two or More Races (5.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Manus bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Manus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.1% · 1,775
- Black or African American8.5% · 193
- Two or more races5.6% · 128
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 101
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 28
Timeline
Historical Census data for Manus
Manus appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#11,882
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,635
+74 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Down 561 places
2020
#12,925
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,273
-362 bearers (-13.7%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 1,043 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,321 | 2,561 | 0.95 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,882 | 2,635 | 0.89 | +74 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 561 places |
| 2020 | #12,925 | 2,273 | 0.76 | -362 bearers (-13.7%) | Down 1,043 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Manus surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #11,882 | #12,925 | -8.8% |
| Count | 2,635 | 2,273 | -13.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.89 | 0.76 | -14.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Manus bearers went from 2,635 to 2,273 (-13.7% change). The surname moved down 1,043 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,882 to #12,925.
FAQ
Manus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Manus?
Name Census estimates that about 2,607 living Americans carry the surname Manus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 131,475 residents.
How common is Manus?
Manus ranks #12,925 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,273 people with the surname Manus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,607), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Manus.
Has Manus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Manus went from 2,635 recorded bearers to 2,273. That is a decrease of 362 (-13.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,882 to #12,925.
What does the Census say about the background of Manus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Manus, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.5%) and Two or More Races (5.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Manus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.1% (1,775 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Manus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.1%), Black (8.5%), Two or More Races (5.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Manus (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Manus mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Manuis," meaning "descendant of Manus," a personal name meaning "great" or "large." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Manus (0.76 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Manus?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.