Given name & surname
Manuela
“God is with us”
In Spanish use, Manuela is a feminine form of Emmanuel. One Hebrew interpretation is “God is with us.”
Original Spanishมานูเอลา
Meaning & origin
What it means
In Spanish use, Manuela is a feminine form of Emmanuel. One Hebrew interpretation is “God is with us.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Spanish.
How it developed
Manuela is used as a feminine counterpart of Emmanuel.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In Spanish use, Manuela is a feminine form of Emmanuel. The history of Emmanuel gives this family its wider story. Emmanuel appears in biblical tradition, giving it a longstanding religious and cultural context.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Manuela through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 11,068
- 35 boys · 11,033 girls
- Most popular year
- 1924
- 202 babies
- 2025
- 68
- #2,573 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- 0%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 68 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 2,573 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was virtually unchanged in 2021–2025 compared with 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 202 in 1924. In 2025, Florida had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (16). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 22,516 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Manuela’s family of names
In French usage, Manuela has a diminutive in Manu. Manuela is a feminine form of Manuel. In Spanish usage, Manuela has a conventional equivalent in the French form Emmanuelle.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Manuela has relatives in 9 languages. Lines run from its Spanish roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 14
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 5
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Manuela
- Manuela SchwesigGerman politician (SPD), Minister President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommernborn 1974
- Manuela SáenzEcuadorian revolutionary heroine (1797-1856)
- Manuela MaleevaBulgarian female tennis playerborn 1967
- Manuela VelascoSpanish actressborn 1975
- Manuela CarmenaSpanish judge and politician, mayor of Madridborn 1944
- ManuSlovene singer, author and record producerborn 1989
- Manuela ArcuriItalian actress and modelborn 1977
- Manuela Di CentaItalian cross-country skier (borm 1963)
- Manuela ZinsbergerAustrian association football playerborn 1995
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Manuela, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Marietta
Marietta is used as a given name and a surname. Marietta is connected with Maria and Mary.
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Michelina
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Millicent
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“a grieving woman; one who is sorrowful”
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“one who brings pleasure; a delight”
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