Manuel
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Spanish. Borrowed from Spanish and Portuguese Manuel, short for Emanuel.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Manuel (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Manuel has been rising over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2020. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 4 |
| 2005 | 10 |
| 2006 | 4 |
| 2007 | 4 |
| 2008 | 4 |
| 2009 | 8 |
| 2010 | 4 |
| 2011 | 8 |
| 2012 | 5 |
| 2013 | 7 |
| 2014 | 3 |
| 2015 | 5 |
| 2016 | 6 |
| 2017 | 3 |
| 2018 | 4 |
| 2019 | 5 |
| 2020 | 11 |
| 2021 | 5 |
| 2022 | 3 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 795 |
| 2000 | 795 |
| 2001 | 814 |
| 2002 | 830 |
| 2003 | 840 |
| 2004 | 849 |
| 2005 | 876 |
| 2006 | 884 |
| 2007 | 884 |
| 2008 | 891 |
| 2009 | 898 |
| 2010 | 912 |
| 2011 | 925 |
| 2012 | 948 |
| 2013 | 967 |
| 2014 | 968 |
| 2015 | 974 |
| 2016 | 995 |
| 2017 | 1,012 |
| 2018 | 1,011 |
| 2019 | 1,036 |
| 2020 | 1,054 |
Manuel in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Manuel.Hi! My name is Manuel.
- Manuel ringde och sa att han blir lite sen.Manuel called and said he'll be a bit late.
- Vet du om Manuel kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Manuel is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Manuels mamma är lärare.Manuel's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Manuels mamma is Manuel's mum.
More names
Questions about Manuel
How do you pronounce Manuel in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Manuel in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Manuel mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Spanish. Borrowed from Spanish and Portuguese Manuel, short for Emanuel.
How popular is Manuel in Sweden?
3 babies were named Manuel in 2022. In 2020, 1,054 people in Sweden had Manuel as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been rising lately and peaked in 2020 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.