Given name
Phanuel
“face of God”·“he turns to God”
Phanuel is used as a given name.
Original GreekΦανουηλ
Meaning & origin
What it means
As a biblical name, Phanuel means “face of God” or “he turns to God.”
From biblical name research
Where it comes from
Phanuel is a biblical name from Greek.
From biblical name research
How it developed
From the Hebrew verb pana (פנה), “to turn,” and the Hebrew word 'el (אל), “God.”
From biblical name research
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 2011. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Phanuel appears in Luke 2:36.
From biblical name research
Phanuel through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 37
- 37 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2020
- 8 babies
- 2025
- 6
- #11,661 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 11,661 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Phanuel’s family of names
See also 10
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
- Phoenixshares a root
- Phinehasshares a root
- Penielshares a root
- Penuelshares a root
- Phoeniciashares a root
- Jephunnehshares a root
- Punonshares a root
- Pinonshares a root
Show 2 moreShow fewer
People named Phanuel
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Phanuel, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Alphaeus
“traverse” · “exchange”
>99% boys
Lucifer
“light bringer”
>99% boys
Jonan
“he will be gracious” · “Yah is gracious”
>99% boys
Legion
“Legion” · “collective”
>99% boys
Cainan
“acquirer” · “networker”
>99% boys
Joses
“increaser” · “may he add”
>99% boys
Jonam
“God is gracious”
>99% boys
Abiud
“my father is majesty” · “father of praise”
>99% boys