Manilla
Of Spanish origin, a feminine name derived from "man" or "mano" meaning "hand".
Name Census estimates that about 3 living Americans carry the first name Manilla. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Manilla today is around 90 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Manilla births was 1898 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Manilla. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Manilla is about 90 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Manillas were born before 1946.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Manilla. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
3
~ 1 in 114,251,446 Americans
Peak year
1898
35 babies that year
Average age
90
years old
1937 SSA rank
#4,670
Tracked since 1898
Popularity
Manilla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Manilla from the 1890s through to the 1930s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1890s, with 46 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1890s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Manilla by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Manilla during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Manilla
The name Manilla has its roots in the Philippines, tracing back to the 16th century when the Spanish colonized the islands. It is believed to be derived from the Tagalog word "manillâ," meaning "a plant with fragrant flowers." The name was likely first used by the Spanish settlers to refer to the capital city of Manila, known for its abundance of these fragrant plants.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Manilla can be found in the writings of Antonio Pigafetta, a Italian scholar and explorer who accompanied Ferdinand Magellan on his famous voyage to the Philippines in 1521. Pigafetta's journals describe the encounters with the indigenous people and the beauty of the land, often referring to the capital as "Manilla."
In the 17th century, the name Manilla gained popularity among European aristocracy, particularly in Spain and Portugal, where it was used to commemorate the colonial conquests in the Philippines. One notable bearer of the name was Manilla de la Cerda y Aragón (1608-1677), a Spanish noblewoman and Duchess of Nájera.
As the centuries passed, the name Manilla spread beyond the Iberian Peninsula, carried by explorers, traders, and settlers to various parts of the world. In the 18th century, Manilla Denton (1718-1798) was a prominent American landowner and philanthropist in Maryland, known for her extensive landholdings and contributions to the local community.
In the 19th century, the name found its way to literature, with Manilla Valerie Chevreuse being a prominent character in the novel "The Paradoxes of Mr. Pond" by G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936). This fictional character embodied the exotic and romantic allure associated with the name's origins.
More recently, Manilla Brucker (1905-1988) was a German-American actress and singer who achieved success on Broadway and in Hollywood during the 1930s and 1940s. Her performances in musicals and films helped to keep the name alive in popular culture.
While the name Manilla is not as common today as it once was, it remains a unique and intriguing choice, carrying with it a rich history and cultural significance rooted in the Philippines and the era of Spanish exploration and colonization.
People
Manilla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Manilla as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Manilla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Manilla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Manilla going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 114,251,446 US residents.
Is Manilla a common name?
We classify Manilla as "Very Rare". It ranks above 4.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 124 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Manilla most popular?
The single biggest year for Manilla was 1898, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Manilla is about 90 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Manilla in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Manilla a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Manilla in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Manilla still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Manilla in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Manilla can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Manilla as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.