Manu

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Mann in US United States, GB United Kingdom, NO Norway and 9 more, Man in AR Argentina, HK Hong Kong, MX Mexico, Muñ in CR Costa Rica, PE Peru and Maina in NG Nigeria, BR Brazil.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 16 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Manu is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• French given name85K records spelled Manu26 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, Spain, Argentina, United States

  Languages: French, Spanish

  Also written Manú, Mañu, Manü, Mänü, Manù

• English given name76K records spelled Manu35 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Germany, India, Nigeria

  Languages: English, German, Dutch

  Also written Manú, Manù, Manū, Man-U, Mànù

• a separate given name59K records spelled Manu6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, United States, Spain, Pakistan

  Also written Mañú, Mañu, Manú, Mānu, Manū

• Portuguese given name18K records spelled Manu15 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, Spain, United States, Portugal

  Also written Manú, Manü, Mánu, Mänü, Mãnu

• Finnish given name12K records spelled Manu7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, India, Italy, Spain

  Languages: Finnish, Estonian

  Also written Mänu, Manù, Mánü, Mánu

89 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Manu is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In Akan, Akan (Ghana): name used for second-born children

  as a name·African Names

• In pi, An Indian sage of old who wrote a work for the guidance of kings in good government.’ ^.g., Cv. lxxx. 9, 55; lxxxiif. 6; lxxxiv. 2; xcvi. 26.

  as a name·Dictionary of Pali Proper Names Vol II (N-H)

• name of person who wrote code of conduct for Hindus

  as a name·A Genealogists Guide to Indian Names A Reference for First Names from India

• In English, A method of diving similar to a cannonball/bomb but with the lower back entering the water first, causing a large splash.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In French, Diminutif de Manuel/Emmanuel; même origine et sens. Fête/saint non indiqué.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

IN naampy — India given names from state electoral rolls (in-rolls) — 102 years between 1896–2017. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Manu Dibangob. 1933CMCameroonian musician and songwriter, recording artist (1933–2020)
• Manu Katchéb. 1958FRFrench drummer, studio musician, composer, singer, lyricist, percussionist and music producer (born 1958)
• Manu Chaob. 1961FRSpanish musician
• Manu Bennettb. 1969NZNew Zealand actor
• Manu Payetb. 1975FRFrench actor, comedian, radio and television presenter
• Gilles Sunub. 1991FRnot in their usual nameTogolese-French footballer (born 1991)
• Manuel Garcíab. 1998ESnot in their usual nameSpanish footballer (born 1998)
• Manu Prakashb. 2000USbiophysicist
• Manu Konéb. 2001FRFrench footballer (born 2001)
• Manu Bhakerb. 2002INIndian sport shooter

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 580 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Manu?

We estimate roughly 644 thousand people bear Manu (counting its spellings and scripts) across 13 countries in our records.

In which country does Manu have the most bearers?

We estimate about 464 thousand people bear Manu in South Korea, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled 문.

How common is Manu compared with other names?

In South Korea, Manu is the 24th most common surname of 14,083 surnames recorded there.

Is Manu a male or female name?

Manu is recorded for both men and women. We don't publish a percentage split: a record's gender belongs to the person and is attached to every given name on that record, so names in cultures where a name string also carries a parent's or spouse's given name pick up large cross-gender counts.

What does the name Manu mean?

Recorded meaning: Manu the progenitor (P); name of many men