Machelle
A feminine name derived from the French variant of Michael, meaning "who is like God?"
Name Census estimates that about 2,705 living Americans carry the first name Machelle. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Machelle today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Machelle births was 1968 (177 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Machelle. 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
2.7K
~ 1 in 126,711 Americans
Peak year
1968
177 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
2015 SSA rank
#18,098
Tracked since 1946
Census
Machelle in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,832 people with the first name Machelle, which placed it at #5,855 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
#5,855
National first-name rank
People counted
2.8K
2,832 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Machelle
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Machelle is White at 69.4%. The next largest groups are Black (20.0%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Machelle 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 Machelle at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.4% · 1,966
- Black or African American20.0% · 567
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 117
- Two or more races4.0% · 113
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 34
Popularity
Machelle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Machelle from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 1,455 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Machelle 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 Machelle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Machelles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 31 states and territories. California, Ohio, Texas recorded the most babies named Machelle, while West Virginia, Oregon, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 42 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Machelle
The name Machelle is a feminine given name derived from the French masculine name Michel, which ultimately traces its roots back to the Hebrew name Michael, meaning "who is like God?". The name Michael was widely popular among early Christians and eventually made its way into various European languages, with the French form Michel emerging as a distinct name in its own right.
In the Middle Ages, the name Michel was commonly used in France and other parts of Western Europe. As French culture and language spread throughout the region, various diminutive forms and feminine versions of Michel began to appear, including Machelle, which likely emerged as a creative spelling variation in the 19th or early 20th century.
While the name Machelle does not have a long historical record, it shares its roots with the venerable name Michael, which has been prominently featured in various religious texts and historical accounts over the centuries. For instance, the Archangel Michael is mentioned in the Bible, the Quran, and other sacred scriptures, often depicted as a warrior and protector.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Machelle was Machelle Eastman, an American actress born in 1946, who appeared in several films and television shows in the 1970s and 1980s. Another notable figure was Machelle Lyne, an American professional wrestler active in the 1990s, known for her time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE).
Other historical figures with the name Machelle include Machelle Allman, an American musician and singer-songwriter born in 1954, who was a member of the rock band Widespread Panic. Machelle Hackney, born in 1952, was an American sprinter who competed in the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games, winning a gold medal in the 4×400 meters relay.
Finally, Machelle Parrish, born in 1962, is an American professional basketball player and coach who played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and coached several collegiate and professional teams throughout her career.
While the name Machelle may not have a long and storied history, its connection to the ancient name Michael and its unique spelling variation have contributed to its enduring use as a feminine given name over the past century.
People
Machelle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Machelle 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
Machelle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Machelle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,705 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Machelle 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 126,711 US residents.
Is Machelle a common name?
We classify Machelle as "Rare". It ranks above 94.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,178 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Machelle most popular?
The single biggest year for Machelle was 1968, when 177 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Machelle is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Machelle in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,832 people with the name Machelle, or 0.94 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,855 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 Machelle 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 Machelle?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Machelle appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,835 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Machelle?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Machelle is White at 69.4%. The next largest groups are Black (20.0%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Machelle most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Machelle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.4% (1,966 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 Machelle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Machelle a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Machelle in the SSA data are female. 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 Machelle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Machelle 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 Machelle 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 Americans are named Machelle?
You can see how many Americans are named Machelle on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.