Meaning and history
Manuel is the Spanish and Portuguese form of Emmanuel. The spelling Μανουήλ (Manouel) was also used in the Byzantine Empire, where it was borne notably by two emperors, and the Iberian form may have been transmitted from Byzantium through royal connections, such as the marriage of Ferdinand III of Castile to Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen, who had Byzantine roots, and their son Manuel. The name has been used in Iberia since at least the 13th century and was borne by two kings of Portugal.
20062006: 2,546 births, rank #165
2007: 2,413 births, rank #169
2008: 2,143 births, rank #187
2009: 1,954 births, rank #195
2010: 1,701 births, rank #210
20112011: 1,559 births, rank #231
2012: 1,464 births, rank #249
2013: 1,472 births, rank #246
2014: 1,382 births, rank #265
2015: 1,297 births, rank #283
20162016: 1,301 births, rank #280
2017: 1,327 births, rank #274
2018: 1,219 births, rank #289
2019: 1,147 births, rank #298
2020: 1,018 births, rank #323
20212021: 1,036 births, rank #321
2022: 1,065 births, rank #316
2023: 1,009 births, rank #332
2024: 958 births, rank #351
20252025: 860 births, rank #371
Manuel moved from #351 to #371 for boys between 2024 and 2025. Its highest annual birth count came in 2005, with 2,665 births.