Michaiah
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "who is like God?".
Name Census estimates that about 533 living Americans carry the first name Michaiah. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 75.6% of registrations being female. The average person named Michaiah today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Michaiah births was 2007 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Michaiah. 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
533
~ 1 in 643,066 Americans
Peak year
2007
32 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,524
Tracked since 1983
Census
Michaiah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 478 people with the first name Michaiah, which placed it at #21,306 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
#21,306
National first-name rank
People counted
478
478 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
48.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Michaiah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Michaiah is Black at 48.5%. The next largest groups are White (30.5%) and Two or More Races (11.3%). 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 Michaiah 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 Michaiah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American48.5% · 232
- White30.5% · 146
- Two or more races11.3% · 54
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Michaiah
Michaiah is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 541 total registrations, 132 (24.4%) were male and 409 (75.6%) were female.
Michaiah as a male name
- Ranked #10,524 in 2024
- 7 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2019 (11 births)
Michaiah as a female name
- Ranked #16,830 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (24 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Michaiah on both sides of the split. Of the 477 people counted with this name, 135 were male (28.3%) and 342 were female (71.7%).
Popularity
Michaiah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Michaiah from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 235 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Michaiah 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 Michaiah 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 Michaiah
Michaiah is a Hebrew name with roots tracing back to ancient Israel. The name is derived from the Hebrew words "mi" meaning "who" and "yah" referring to the Hebrew god Yahweh. In its original form, Michaiah translates to "who is like Yahweh?"
One of the earliest mentions of the name Michaiah can be found in the Hebrew Bible, specifically in the Book of Jeremiah. Michaiah was the name of a prophet who lived during the reign of King Hezekiah in the 8th century BCE. He is remembered for speaking out against the Assyrian invasion and warning the people of Judah to repent.
The name Michaiah also appears in the Book of Chronicles, where it refers to a Levite who was among the teachers during the time of King Jehoshaphat in the 9th century BCE. This Michaiah is credited with helping to restore the knowledge of God's laws among the people of Judah.
In the New Testament, a variant spelling of the name, Michaiah, is mentioned as the father of one of the disciples, Bartholomew. This connection suggests that the name was still in use during the time of Jesus Christ in the 1st century CE.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Michaiah was a Jewish scholar and philosopher from the 11th century CE, known as Michaiah ben Jacob. He was born in Spain and is known for his works on Hebrew grammar and poetry.
Another notable figure was Michaiah ben Gershon, a Jewish philosopher and commentator from the 12th century CE. He was born in France and is best known for his writings on the Torah and Jewish law.
In the 16th century, Michaiah Peyxotto was a Jewish scholar and writer from Portugal. He is known for his work on Hebrew grammar and his defense of the Jewish faith during the Inquisition.
Moving to more recent times, Michaiah Townsend was an American soldier and politician who served in the Revolutionary War. He was born in 1749 and later became a member of the Connecticut General Assembly.
Finally, Michaiah Delano was an American author and educator who lived in the 19th century. He was born in 1815 and is known for his works on education and literature.
While the name Michaiah has its roots in ancient Hebrew and biblical history, it has been used across various cultures and time periods, reflecting its enduring significance and religious connections.
People
Michaiah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Michaiah 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
Michaiah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Michaiah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 533 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Michaiah 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 643,066 US residents.
Is Michaiah a common name?
We classify Michaiah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 541 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Michaiah most popular?
The single biggest year for Michaiah was 2007, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Michaiah is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Michaiah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 478 people with the name Michaiah, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,306 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 Michaiah 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 Michaiah?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Michaiah on both sides of the split. Of the 477 people counted with this name, 135 were male (28.3%) and 342 were female (71.7%). 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 Michaiah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Michaiah is Black at 48.5%. The next largest groups are White (30.5%) and Two or More Races (11.3%). 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 Michaiah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Michaiah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.5% (232 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 Michaiah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Michaiah a female name?
Yes, 75.6% of people registered as Michaiah 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 Michaiah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Michaiah 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 Michaiah 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 share the name Michaiah?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.