Manuela

Did you know?

A few things about Manuela you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Manuela

Manuela Maleeva

Bulgarian female tennis player

Choose Manuela and your child shares a first name with Manuela Maleeva, a Bulgarian female tennis player. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Manuela, like who?” Manuela Maleeva's Wikipedia article is available in 30 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Manuela Maleeva on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Justine.toms, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 23,641 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Manuela, 68 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Manuela would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryManuela has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Manuelas, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1920, when it ranked #486. Today it's #2,564, so it could be due a comeback.
• 🍂TrendManuela has slipped 559 places over the last five years and now sits at #2,564. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedManuela is most popular in Massachusetts, where it ranks #761, followed by Florida (#959). It's in the top 1,000 in 2 states.
• 💬MeaningManuela is a Spanish form of Emmanuel, which means “God is with us”. Our records link it to German, Hebrew and Portuguese roots.
• 🌍OriginManuela is the #7 most popular Portuguese girl name in the US. That's out of 20 Portuguese girl and unisex names in our list.

About the name Manuela

Manuela is a girl name of German, Hebrew and Portuguese origin meaning “God is with us”. It has 7 letters and 3 syllables, starting with M and ending in “-ela”. US birth records list Manuela for girls from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1920, when it ranked #486 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #2,564, with 68 babies.

Origin:German namesHebrew namesPortuguese namesSpanish names