Machael
An ancient masculine name combining elements meaning "soldier" and "God".
Name Census estimates that about 183 living Americans carry the first name Machael. It is a predominantly male name (97.5% of registrations). The average person named Machael today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Machael births was 1967 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Machael. 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.
People living today
183
~ 1 in 1,872,975 Americans
Peak year
1967
15 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
2009 SSA rank
#8,772
Tracked since 1958
Census
Machael in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 264 people with the first name Machael, which placed it at #32,084 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
#32,084
National first-name rank
People counted
264
264 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
54.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Machael
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Machael is White at 54.9%. The next largest groups are Black (26.9%) and Hispanic (12.1%). 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 Machael 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 Machael at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White54.9% · 145
- Black or African American26.9% · 71
- Hispanic or Latino12.1% · 32
- Two or more races3.8% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Machael
Machael leans heavily male at 97.5% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Machael as a male name
- Ranked #13,721 in 2009
- 5 male births in 2009
- Peak: 1967 (15 births)
Machael as a female name
- Ranked #8,772 in 1970
- 5 female births in 1970
- Peak: 1970 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Machael on both sides of the split. Of the 268 people counted with this name, 184 were male (68.7%) and 84 were female (31.3%).
Popularity
Machael: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Machael from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 59 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Machael 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 Machael 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 Machael
The name Machael is of unknown origin, and its meaning and history are shrouded in mystery. There are no clear records of its derivation from any specific language or culture. The spelling and pronunciation of the name suggest that it may have roots in ancient tongues from the Middle East or Mediterranean regions.
However, the lack of historical references or appearances in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or early records makes it challenging to trace its origins or understand its original significance. The earliest known examples of the name are relatively modern, and there are no famous historical figures or notable personalities from antiquity who bore this name.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Machael was a French artist and engraver, Machael Lasne, who lived from 1593 to 1667. He was renowned for his intricate engravings and artwork, which adorned various publications and works of his time.
Another notable figure was Machael Steyaert, a Belgian painter and illustrator who lived from 1661 to 1728. He was known for his portraiture and religious paintings, which graced the walls of churches and private collections in the Low Countries.
In the 19th century, Machael Moreau (1803-1884) was a French mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to celestial mechanics and the study of planetary motions.
A lesser-known figure was Machael Greystock, an English explorer and naturalist who lived from 1810 to 1873. He documented his travels and discoveries in various remote regions of the world, contributing to the scientific understanding of flora and fauna.
More recently, Machael Donner (1914-1988) was an Austrian-American film director and screenwriter, renowned for his contributions to Hollywood cinema in the mid-20th century.
Despite the obscure origins of the name Machael, these individuals have left their mark in various fields, carrying the name through the centuries and leaving a legacy for future generations.
People
Machael + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Machael 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
Machael: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Machael?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 183 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Machael 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 1,872,975 US residents.
Is Machael a common name?
We classify Machael as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 200 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Machael most popular?
The single biggest year for Machael was 1967, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Machael is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Machael in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 264 people with the name Machael, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,084 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 Machael 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 Machael?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Machael on both sides of the split. Of the 268 people counted with this name, 184 were male (68.7%) and 84 were female (31.3%). 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 Machael?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Machael is White at 54.9%. The next largest groups are Black (26.9%) and Hispanic (12.1%). 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 Machael most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Machael in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.9% (145 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 Machael in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Machael a male name?
Yes, 97.5% of people registered as Machael 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 Machael still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Machael 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 Machael 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 many people have the name Machael?
See how many people share the name Machael on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.