Given name & surname
Emmanuel
“God is with us”
Emmanuel is used as a given name and a surname. One Hebrew interpretation is “God is with us.”
Original Hebrewעמנואל
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Hebrew interpretation is “God is with us.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hebrew.
The story
The name appears in biblical tradition, giving it a longstanding religious and cultural context.
Emmanuel through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 91,451
- 91,079 boys · 372 girls
- Most popular year
- 2008
- 2,868 babies
- 2025
- 2,035
- #179 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −16%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 2,035 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 179 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 16.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 2,862 in 2008. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (348). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 87,988 as a first name in 2020; 3,716 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Emmanuel’s family of names
In French usage, Emmanuel has a diminutive in Manuel. Emmanuel has a later derivative in Emanuel. Emmanuel has a related form in Eman.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Emmanuel has relatives in 23 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.
Hebrewwhere Emmanuel comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 19
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 24
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Emmanuel
- Emmanuel MacronPresident of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017born 1977
- Man RayAmerican and French visual artist (1890–1976)
- Emmanuel Joseph SieyèsFrench priest and statesman (1748-1836)
- Emmanuel LevinasJewish-French-Lithuanian philosopher (1906-1995)
- Emmanuel PetitFrench footballer (born 1970)
- Emmanuel EbouéIvorian footballer (born 1983)
- Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of SavoyDuke of Savoy from 1553 to 1580 (1528-1580)
- Emmanuel Le Roy LadurieFrench historian and writer1929–2023
- Emmanuel MounierFrench philosopher (1905–1950)
Characters named Emmanuel: Emmanuel Goldstein (George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Emmanuel, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Uriel
“the angel of light”
98% boys · 2% girls
Eli
“one who has ascended; my God on high”
99% boys · 1% girls
Abel
“the life force; breath”
>99% boys
Isaiah
“God is salvation” · “God is my salvation”
>99% boys
Ethan
“firmness” · “long-lived”
>99% boys
Isaac
“full of laughter”
>99% boys
Ezekiel
“God strengthens” · “strengthened by God”
>99% boys
Gabriel
“man of God” · “a hero of God”
>99% boys