Manson
English masculine name derived from an old English surname meaning "son of Man".
Name Census estimates that about 358 living Americans carry the first name Manson. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Manson today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Manson births was 1923 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Manson. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Manson with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
358
~ 1 in 957,414 Americans
Peak year
1923
26 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,381
Tracked since 1880
Census
Manson in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 517 people with the first name Manson, which placed it at #20,108 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#20,108
National first-name rank
People counted
517
517 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
48.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Manson
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Manson is White at 48.4%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Manson described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Manson at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.4% · 250
- Black or African American28.0% · 145
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.8% · 56
- Hispanic or Latino6.4% · 33
- Two or more races3.3% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.1% · 16
Popularity
Manson: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Manson from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 158 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Manson 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 Manson 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 Manson
The name Manson originated from the Old English word "mann," meaning "man" or "person," and the suffix "-son," indicating a patronymic or a name derived from one's father or ancestor. It was a common practice in Anglo-Saxon England to form surnames by combining a personal name with the word "son," denoting the son of a particular person.
The earliest recorded use of the name Manson dates back to the late 11th century, following the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It appeared in the Domesday Book, a great survey of land and property commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, where it was listed as a surname.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Manson appeared in the records of the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, England. He was a landowner and a benefactor of the abbey, contributing to its construction and maintenance.
During the 13th century, a monk named Manson de Wynchestre gained recognition for his scholarly works and contributions to the Abbey of St. Mary's in Winchester, England. He was a prolific writer and translator, producing works on theology and philosophy.
In the 15th century, a Scottish knight named Sir John Manson distinguished himself in the Wars of Scottish Independence against England. He fought alongside William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, playing a crucial role in securing Scotland's independence.
The name Manson also appeared in literary works, such as the plays of William Shakespeare. In his tragedy "Hamlet," the character of Marcellus mentions a character named "old Manson" in a conversation with Horatio and Bernardo.
Other notable figures throughout history who bore the name Manson include:
1. Sir Patrick Manson (1844-1922), a Scottish physician and pioneer in tropical medicine, known for his research on malaria and other tropical diseases.
2. Wilbur Manson (1890-1969), an American artist and illustrator renowned for his works depicting Western themes and Native American subjects.
3. Marie Manson (1904-1998), a French actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and theater productions during the 20th century.
4. Joseph Manson (1803-1866), a British naval officer and explorer who led several expeditions to the Arctic regions and contributed to the mapping of the Canadian Arctic.
5. Edith Manson (1866-1937), an American painter and illustrator known for her portraits and landscapes, particularly her depictions of the American West.
While the name Manson has its roots in Old English and was initially used as a patronymic, it has gained recognition throughout history, associated with individuals from various fields, including literature, arts, exploration, and military service.
People
Manson + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Manson 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
Manson: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Manson?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 358 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Manson 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 957,414 US residents.
Is Manson a common name?
We classify Manson as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 816 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Manson most popular?
The single biggest year for Manson was 1923, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Manson is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Manson in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 517 people with the name Manson, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,108 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Manson in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Manson?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Manson leans strongly male. 504 people counted with this name were male (98.2%), compared with 9 female bearers (1.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Manson?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Manson is White at 48.4%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Manson most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Manson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.4% (250 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Manson in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Manson a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Manson in the SSA data are male. 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 Manson still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Manson 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 Manson 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.
How common is the name Manson?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.