Manis
A surname of uncertain origin, likely a Scottish Gaelic family name in historical records.
The #7,124 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 65,746 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The old surname records shown here place Manis among Scottish Gaelic-style names, especially alongside forms beginning with Mac or M'. That suggests it may have been a Gaelic family name that was later reduced to a shorter hereditary surname. The exact root is not clear from the available excerpts, so its literal meaning should be treated as uncertain.
History
The citations show Manis in medieval and early modern Scottish name lists, including forms dated to the 12th, 15th, and 16th centuries. Later spellings appear in records alongside Gaelic patronymic forms, which fits a surname that was once part of a broader clan or family-name tradition before settling into a fixed surname. The modern surname in the U.S. is likely a later descendant of one or more such British or Irish lines.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname appears in a 1901 Scottish name study as early as 1183, though the source does not explain its meaning.
From the historical record
“M-Caigue, 1392. Manis. 1183, 1539. Mayne, 1204, 1427. M'Arteney, 1145.”
— Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland