Micheal
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "Who is like God?"
Name Census estimates that about 129,448 living Americans carry the first name Micheal. It is a predominantly male name (98.8% of registrations). The average person named Micheal today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Micheal births was 1957 (4,860 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Micheal. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Micheal with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Micheal is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 1,836 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1950s, recent registration numbers for Micheal have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
129K
~ 1 in 2,648 Americans
Peak year
1957
4,860 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,346
Tracked since 1880
Census
Micheal in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 84,520 people with the first name Micheal, which placed it at #623 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
#623
National first-name rank
People counted
85K
84,520 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
28.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Micheal
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Micheal is White at 62.3%. The next largest groups are Black (21.2%) and Hispanic (10.3%). 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 Micheal 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 Micheal at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.3% · 52,660
- Black or African American21.2% · 17,915
- Hispanic or Latino10.3% · 8,672
- Two or more races3.5% · 2,921
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 1,190
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 1,162
Gender
Gender distribution for Micheal
Micheal leans heavily male at 98.8% of total registrations, but 1,836 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Micheal as a male name
- Ranked #1,346 in 2024
- 142 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1957 (4,830 births)
Micheal as a female name
- Ranked #18,934 in 2010
- 5 female births in 2010
- Peak: 1977 (74 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Micheal leans strongly male. 83,358 people counted with this name were male (98.6%), compared with 1,162 female bearers (1.4%).
Popularity
Micheal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Micheal from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 41,140 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Micheal 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 Micheal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Micheals live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Micheal, while Hawaii, Delaware, Vermont recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 2,966 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Micheal
The name Micheal has its origins in the Hebrew language and can be traced back to the biblical era. It is derived from the Hebrew name Mikhael, which means "who is like God" or "one who is like God." This name is a rhetorical question implying that no one is like God.
The name Micheal is mentioned in the Bible, specifically in the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation. In these texts, Michael is portrayed as an archangel, a leader of the heavenly host, and a protector of the people of Israel.
The earliest recorded use of the name Micheal dates back to the 5th century BCE. In ancient Greek texts, the name appeared as Μιχαήλ (Mikhaḗl), which was a transliteration of the Hebrew name.
One of the earliest and most notable figures with the name Micheal was Michael the Archangel, who is revered in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions. In Christianity, he is considered the leader of the heavenly armies and the protector of the Church.
Another prominent figure in history with the name Micheal was Michael VIII Palaiologos (1223-1282), who was the Byzantine Emperor from 1259 to 1282. He is known for regaining control of Constantinople from the Latin Empire and restoring the Byzantine Empire.
In the 16th century, Michael Servetus (1511-1553) was a Spanish theologian and Renaissance humanist who is famous for his contributions to the study of anatomy and his opposition to the doctrine of the Trinity, which ultimately led to his execution.
Michael Faraday (1791-1867) was an English scientist who made significant contributions to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. He is credited with discovering the principles of electromagnetic induction and the laws of electrolysis.
Michael Jordan (born 1963) is a legendary American basketball player widely regarded as one of the greatest athletes of all time. He played for the Chicago Bulls and led them to six NBA championships, earning numerous accolades and awards throughout his career.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Micheal, a name with rich biblical and cultural origins that has remained popular across various cultures and time periods.
People
Micheal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Micheal 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
Micheal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Micheal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 129,448 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Micheal 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 2,648 US residents.
Is Micheal a common name?
We classify Micheal as "Common". It ranks above 99.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 156,423 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Micheal most popular?
The single biggest year for Micheal was 1957, when 4,860 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Micheal is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Micheal in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 84,520 people with the name Micheal, or 27.98 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #623 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 Micheal 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 Micheal?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Micheal leans strongly male. 83,358 people counted with this name were male (98.6%), compared with 1,162 female bearers (1.4%). 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 Micheal?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Micheal is White at 62.3%. The next largest groups are Black (21.2%) and Hispanic (10.3%). 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 Micheal most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Micheal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.3% (52,660 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 Micheal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Micheal a male name?
Yes, 98.8% of people registered as Micheal 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 Micheal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Micheal 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 Micheal 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 are called Micheal?
Find out how many people share the name Micheal on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.