Primarily a boy's name · 100% boys
Origin: HebrewMichael is a common masculine given name usually thought to be from the Hebrew rhetorical question מי כאל, "Who [is] like [the Hebrew god] El?", thus being a theophoric name whose answer is "there is none like El", or "there is none as famous and powerful as God." This question is known in Latin as Quis ut Deus?
From Wikipedia
In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of Michael yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.
Both my grandfather and my wife's grandfather were named Michael. We weren't trying to honour tradition — we genuinely independently both floated the same name in week thirty-two and then had a long conversation about why. Family runs deeper than you think.
— Steven, Cleveland OH, 2018
I know it's been the most common name in America for fifty years. But it's my name, and I turned out fine. My son can handle it.
— Michael, Chicago IL, 2020
Why did you choose this name — or what does it mean to you? Approved stories appear on this page.
→ See names similar to Michael · Compare Michael with another name → · Popular names of the 1950s · Boys names starting with M
Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 354 | #46 |
| 1881 | 298 | #54 |
| 1882 | 321 | #57 |
| 1883 | 307 | #55 |
| 1884 | 373 | #51 |
| 1885 | 370 | #47 |
| 1886 | 348 | #53 |
| 1887 | 344 | #48 |
| 1888 | 466 | #46 |
| 1889 | 377 | #51 |
| 1890 | 394 | #48 |
| 1891 | 333 | #55 |
| 1892 | 380 | #59 |
| 1893 | 407 | #49 |
| 1894 | 423 | #51 |
| 1895 | 413 | #52 |
| 1896 | 399 | #53 |
| 1897 | 368 | #57 |
| 1898 | 434 | #52 |
| 1899 | 375 | #51 |
| 1900 | 495 | #51 |
| 1901 | 384 | #52 |
| 1902 | 460 | #48 |
| 1903 | 466 | #47 |
| 1904 | 462 | #50 |
| 1905 | 513 | #45 |
| 1906 | 531 | #46 |
| 1907 | 586 | #48 |
| 1908 | 688 | #44 |
| 1909 | 635 | #47 |
| 1910 | 844 | #45 |
| 1911 | 1,159 | #38 |
| 1912 | 2,104 | #42 |
| 1913 | 2,607 | #40 |
| 1914 | 3,362 | #40 |
| 1915 | 4,079 | #43 |
| 1916 | 4,210 | #44 |
| 1917 | 4,288 | #44 |
| 1918 | 4,296 | #45 |
| 1919 | 3,910 | #46 |
| 1920 | 4,003 | #50 |
| 1921 | 4,198 | #47 |
| 1922 | 3,990 | #48 |
| 1923 | 3,915 | #50 |
| 1924 | 3,874 | #54 |
| 1925 | 3,761 | #55 |
| 1926 | 3,485 | #56 |
| 1927 | 3,605 | #52 |
| 1928 | 3,598 | #53 |
| 1929 | 3,465 | #54 |
| 1930 | 3,542 | #54 |
| 1931 | 3,489 | #55 |
| 1932 | 3,607 | #54 |
| 1933 | 3,549 | #53 |
| 1934 | 4,108 | #47 |
| 1935 | 4,906 | #41 |
| 1936 | 5,800 | #33 |
| 1937 | 7,094 | #27 |
| 1938 | 9,076 | #21 |
| 1939 | 10,829 | #18 |
| 1940 | 13,228 | #18 |
| 1941 | 15,935 | #16 |
| 1942 | 21,728 | #13 |
| 1943 | 24,745 | #10 |
| 1944 | 26,717 | #9 |
| 1945 | 29,902 | #9 |
| 1946 | 41,192 | #7 |
| 1947 | 50,505 | #7 |
| 1948 | 52,566 | #6 |
| 1949 | 60,046 | #5 |
| 1950 | 65,138 | #4 |
| 1951 | 72,805 | #4 |
| 1952 | 79,039 | #4 |
| 1953 | 84,202 | #3 |
| 1954 | 88,564 | #1 |
| 1955 | 88,352 | #1 |
| 1956 | 90,691 | #1 |
| 1957 | 92,786 | #1 |
| 1958 | 90,598 | #1 |
| 1959 | 85,291 | #1 |
| 1960 | 84,139 | #2 |
| 1961 | 86,968 | #1 |
| 1962 | 85,056 | #1 |
| 1963 | 83,757 | #1 |
| 1964 | 82,619 | #1 |
| 1965 | 81,002 | #1 |
| 1966 | 79,984 | #1 |
| 1967 | 82,412 | #1 |
| 1968 | 81,974 | #1 |
| 1969 | 85,159 | #1 |
| 1970 | 85,271 | #1 |
| 1971 | 77,585 | #1 |
| 1972 | 71,391 | #1 |
| 1973 | 67,808 | #1 |
| 1974 | 67,535 | #1 |
| 1975 | 68,422 | #1 |
| 1976 | 66,917 | #1 |
| 1977 | 67,588 | #1 |
| 1978 | 67,133 | #1 |
| 1979 | 67,718 | #1 |
| 1980 | 68,687 | #1 |
| 1981 | 68,759 | #1 |
| 1982 | 68,228 | #1 |
| 1983 | 67,997 | #1 |
| 1984 | 67,741 | #1 |
| 1985 | 64,936 | #1 |
| 1986 | 64,236 | #1 |
| 1987 | 63,663 | #1 |
| 1988 | 64,168 | #1 |
| 1989 | 65,409 | #1 |
| 1990 | 65,318 | #1 |
| 1991 | 60,807 | #1 |
| 1992 | 54,409 | #1 |
| 1993 | 49,568 | #1 |
| 1994 | 44,475 | #1 |
| 1995 | 41,410 | #1 |
| 1996 | 38,373 | #1 |
| 1997 | 37,557 | #1 |
| 1998 | 36,619 | #1 |
| 1999 | 33,915 | #2 |
| 2000 | 32,043 | #2 |
| 2001 | 29,689 | #2 |
| 2002 | 28,258 | #2 |
| 2003 | 27,129 | #2 |
| 2004 | 25,470 | #2 |
| 2005 | 23,827 | #2 |
| 2006 | 22,651 | #2 |
| 2007 | 22,024 | #2 |
| 2008 | 20,651 | #2 |
| 2009 | 18,960 | #3 |
| 2010 | 17,381 | #3 |
| 2011 | 16,822 | #6 |
| 2012 | 16,209 | #7 |
| 2013 | 15,540 | #7 |
| 2014 | 15,496 | #7 |
| 2015 | 14,497 | #9 |
| 2016 | 14,139 | #8 |
| 2017 | 12,723 | #12 |
| 2018 | 11,750 | #14 |
| 2019 | 10,614 | #14 |
| 2020 | 9,824 | #12 |
| 2021 | 9,136 | #17 |
| 2022 | 8,888 | #16 |
| 2023 | 8,416 | #16 |
| 2024 | 8,189 | #18 |
