# Manu (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/manu/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Sanskrit |
| Meaning | “man”, “mankind” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 706 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 701 / 5 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 95, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Transliteration of Sanskrit मनु (manu, “man, mankind”). Doublet of man and mann.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 5 | 14,923 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 11 | 7,317 |
| 2012 | 16 | 5,633 |
| 2013 | 21 | 4,562 |
| 2014 | 12 | 6,914 |
| 2015 | 17 | 5,435 |
| 2016 | 20 | 4,880 |
| 2017 | 17 | 5,439 |
| 2018 | 15 | 5,951 |
| 2019 | 15 | 6,002 |
| 2020 | 19 | 4,971 |
| 2021 | 25 | 4,185 |
| 2022 | 19 | 5,150 |
| 2023 | 20 | 4,999 |
| 2024 | 18 | 5,367 |
| 2025 | 23 | 4,486 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 4 | 3,385 |
| 2007 | 8 | 2,211 |
| 2008 | 3 | 4,432 |
| 2009 | 5 | 3,227 |
| 2010 | 4 | 3,865 |
| 2014 | 6 | 2,964 |
| 2015 | 3 | 4,747 |
| 2016 | 3 | 4,810 |
| 2017 | 3 | 4,812 |
| 2018 | 3 | 4,749 |
| 2020 | 6 | 2,960 |
| 2021 | 6 | 3,017 |
| 2022 | 5 | 3,449 |
| 2023 | 3 | 4,991 |
| 2025 | 5 | 3,684 |

## People named Manu

- Manu Dibango, Cameroonian musician and songwriter, recording artist (1933–2020)
- Manu Koné, French footballer (born 2001)
- Manu Katché, French drummer, studio musician, composer, singer, lyricist, percussionist and music produ
- Manu Payet, French actor, comedian, radio and television presenter
- Manu Attri, badminton player
- Manu Tuilagi, English rugby union player
- Manu Sareen, Danish politician
- Manu Narayan, American actor
- Manu Ferrera, Belgian association football player
- Juhani Tamminen, Finnish ice hockey player (born 1950)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.