Michail
A Greek name derived from Michael, meaning "who is like God?"
Name Census estimates that about 526 living Americans carry the first name Michail. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Michail today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Michail births was 1971 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Michail. 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
526
~ 1 in 651,624 Americans
Peak year
1971
17 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2019 SSA rank
#10,452
Tracked since 1944
Popularity
Michail: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Michail from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 105 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Michail remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Michail 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 Michail 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 Michail
The name Michail has its origins in the ancient Greek language and culture, dating back to the Classical period of Greek history. It is derived from the Hebrew name "Michael," which means "who is like God" or "one who is like God." The name Michail is a transliteration of the Greek spelling of Michael.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Michail can be found in the Bible, where the Archangel Michael is mentioned as the leader of the heavenly host. In the Book of Revelation, Michael is depicted as the one who leads the angels in the war against Satan and his fallen angels.
During the Byzantine Empire, the name Michail gained widespread popularity, particularly among the ruling classes and nobility. One of the most famous bearers of this name was Michael III, also known as Michael the Drunkard, who ruled as the Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867 CE.
Another notable figure in history with the name Michail was Mikhail Lomonosov (1711-1765), a Russian polymath who made significant contributions to various fields, including physics, chemistry, astronomy, and literature. He is often regarded as the founder of modern Russian science.
In the realm of literature, Mikhail Lermontov (1814-1841) was a prominent Russian Romantic writer and poet. His novel "A Hero of Our Time" is considered a classic of Russian literature and a significant work of the Romantic era.
Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-2022), the last leader of the Soviet Union, played a pivotal role in shaping modern history. He implemented policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring), which ultimately led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.
Michail Bakunin (1814-1876) was a Russian revolutionary, philosopher, and theorist of collectivist anarchism. He was a prominent figure in the international anarchist movement and played a significant role in the development of anarchist theory and practice.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Michail, reflecting its rich cultural and historical significance across various regions and time periods.
People
Michail + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Michail 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
Michail: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Michail?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 526 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Michail 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 651,624 US residents.
Is Michail a common name?
We classify Michail as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 589 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Michail most popular?
The single biggest year for Michail was 1971, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Michail is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Michail a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Michail 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.
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.