Holding steady.
Popularity of Manly since 1880
Babies named Manly per year in U.S. Social Security records. Raw births topped out in 1922, but relative to how few babies were recorded back then, Manly's real moment was 1881.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 10 |
| 1890s | 10 |
| 1900s | 0 |
| 1910s | 92 |
| 1920s | 153 |
| 1930s | 97 |
| 1940s | 89 |
| 1950s | 38 |
| 1960s | 11 |
| 1970s | 6 |
| 1980s | 5 |
| 1990s | 5 |
| 2000s | 5 |
| 2010s | 0 |
| 2020s | 0 |
Meaning & origin
Manly is a rare English virtue name that never achieved widespread popularity in the United States. Its peak usage occurred in 1881, which was its highest-ranked year, though the name never ranked among the top 1,000 names. The trajectory of Manly's usage has been stable, meaning it has not seen significant increases or decreases in recent decades. Due to its scarcity, the Social Security Administration data does not record a one-in-N frequency or a specific rank for the most recent years. The name is virtually unused today, making it a historical curiosity rather than a contemporary choice.
Manly is an English vocabulary name taken directly from the word 'manly,' meaning 'having qualities traditionally associated with men, such as courage and strength.' It emerged in the late 19th century as part of a broader trend of virtue names in the United States. The name's usage peaked in the early 1880s and has since fallen out of common use, making it a rare historical curiosity.
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Man
Sibling names for Manly
Names that share Manly's style, for a brother or sister.
