Manase is a form of Manasseh, a Hebrew biblical name meaning "causing to forget."
Manase is a melodic variant of Manasseh, one of the great biblical patriarchs whose name encodes one of the more humanly recognizable of all ancient emotions: the desire to forget pain and begin again. The Hebrew מְנַשֶּׁה (Menasheh) derives from the root nasha, meaning "to forget" or "to cause to forget." In Genesis, Joseph names his firstborn son Manasseh with the explanation that "God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's house" — a name given at the moment of relief after years of suffering, carrying the emotional texture of survival and release.
Manasseh became one of the twelve tribes of Israel, giving the name enormous geographic and historical reach across the ancient Near East. In Christian tradition the name was borne by a king of Judah whose long reign included both terrible idolatry and, according to the Books of Chronicles, a late-life repentance — making Manasseh a figure associated with the possibility of transformation at any age. The Prayer of Manasseh, a deuterocanonical text preserved in Eastern Orthodox scriptures, gives voice to this penitence in language of moving sincerity.
The Manase spelling is particularly common in Pacific Islander communities — especially Samoan and Tongan — where biblical names arrived through nineteenth-century Christian missionary contact and took root deeply in naming culture. In these communities Manase is often pronounced with all four syllables given equal weight: mah-NAH-seh. It has the warmth of a familiar name and the dignity of ancient origin. Today it bridges Pacific Island heritage and biblical tradition, worn by athletes, musicians, and community leaders who carry its message of new beginnings with them.