Mostly boys4 letters

Manu

Meaning: Meaning depends on language: bird, wise, or a longer name
Origin: Finnish, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Maori, Samoan, Sanskrit

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Meaning & origin

What does Manu mean?

Manu means “Meaning depends on language: bird, wise, or a longer name”.

Manu has several independent histories. In Hindu tradition, Manu is associated with an ancestral figure and a Sanskrit interpretation connected with thinking or wisdom. In several Polynesian languages, including Hawaiian and Māori, manu means bird. Those meanings do not come from the same linguistic root.

Manu is also a familiar form of Manuel or Emmanuel in European languages, carrying that family's meaning of God with us. In Finnish it can instead belong to the Mauno and Magnus family, associated with greatness. A language or family connection is therefore essential to explaining Manu: its short spelling is shared by names with very different backgrounds.

Short forms & related names

Nicknames & variations

Explore short forms, spellings, and related names.

Variations & related forms

Related forms and spellings recorded for this name.

Mauno

Popularity & trends

How popular is Manu?

United States · 2025

Explore how often Manu is used and how its ranking has changed.

US boys rank: #4,486
Boys named Manu: 23
Change in births: 27.8%

Manu over time

United States · Boys

Boys

Yearly data & usage

Rankings are calculated separately for girls and boys. The summary highlights boys, the most common recorded usage in 2025.

Manu: United States birth counts and ranks
Year	Usage	US rank	Births
2025	Boys	#4,486	23
2024	Boys	#5,367	18
2023	Boys	#4,999	20
2022	Boys	#5,150	19
2021	Boys	#4,185	25
2020	Boys	#4,971	19
2019	Boys	#6,002	15
2018	Boys	#5,951	15
2017	Boys	#5,439	17
2016	Boys	#4,880	20
2015	Boys	#5,435	17
2014	Boys	#6,914	12