girl's name
Manel
ma-NEL
- Origin Arabic
- Gender Girl
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (France)
- Births on record 14,369
France
#183
2025 births
Manel is a girl's name in France and a boy's name in Catalonia, from two entirely different sources that share a spelling. It ranks 183rd in France and appears in no other market we hold.
- Manel is a name of Arabic origin.
- Peaked in France in 2010, when 705 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 1,709 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1977.
Manel over time
Births per decade in France, 1970s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1970s | 40 |
| 1980s | 310 |
| 1990s | 485 |
| 2000s | 3,650 |
| 2010s | 6,505 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,090 |
What Manel means
Manel has two unconnected meanings. The Arabic manal, behind the French girls' name, means attainment or something achieved. The Catalan Manel is short for Manuel, from the Hebrew for God is with us.
Where Manel comes from
Manel is two names sharing a spelling. In France it is overwhelmingly a girls' name from the Arabic manal, meaning attainment, reach or what one obtains — from the root nala, to reach, the same root behind Nayla and Neyla. In Catalonia it is a men's name, the standard Catalan short form of Manuel, from the Hebrew Immanu'el, God is with us, which is the name Isaiah gives the promised child and which Matthew applies to Jesus. The two have no connection whatever. The French use follows Maghrebi migration and the Catalan use is confined to Spain, so the markets keep them apart in practice — but a search for the name returns both, which is worth knowing before choosing it.
Manel in use
Manel ranks 183rd in France with about 390 births in 2025 and is stable in our data with a peak in 2010. Our records carry it from 1977. It appears in no other market we hold, which means the Catalan masculine use does not show in our data at all — our figures describe the Arabic girls' name only.
How popular is Manel?
In 2025, Manel was given to 345 babies in France, ranking #183 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Manel is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
How Manel is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Manël | Manël is Manel written with a diaeresis, used in France, where it ranks #990. | 555 |
| Manèl | Manèl is a rare spelling of Manel, written with a grave accent and recorded about 40 times, mostly in France. | 40 |
Names that peaked alongside Manel
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Manel also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Manel over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Manel
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Manel in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Manel
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Manel — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Manel
What does the name Manel mean?
In Arabic, attainment or what one obtains. In Catalan it is a short form of Manuel, God is with us — two unconnected names.
Is Manel a boy's or a girl's name?
In France it is a girls' name from the Arabic. In Catalonia it is a men's name from Manuel.
Is Manel related to Nayla?
Under the Arabic reading, yes — both come from the root nala, to reach or obtain.
How popular is Manel?
183rd in France, and absent from every other market we hold.
What are the nicknames for Manel?
Manel is usually shortened to Nel.
Is Manel a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Manel currently ranks #183 in France. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.