Michella
A feminine variant of Michael, of Hebrew origin meaning "who is like God?".
Name Census estimates that about 992 living Americans carry the first name Michella. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Michella today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Michella births was 1990 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Michella. 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 Michella with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
992
~ 1 in 345,518 Americans
Peak year
1990
42 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2020 SSA rank
#14,532
Tracked since 1948
Census
Michella in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 982 people with the first name Michella, which placed it at #12,612 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
#12,612
National first-name rank
People counted
982
982 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
48.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Michella
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Michella is White at 48.5%. The next largest groups are Black (29.3%) and Hispanic (12.2%). 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 Michella 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 Michella at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.5% · 476
- Black or African American29.3% · 288
- Hispanic or Latino12.2% · 120
- Two or more races5.4% · 53
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.9% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 7
Popularity
Michella: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Michella from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 279 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Michella 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 Michella during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Michellas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Michigan, Ohio recorded the most babies named Michella, while Texas, Indiana, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Michella
The name Michella is a feminine form of the name Michael, which has its origins in the Hebrew name מִיכָאֵל (Mikha'el). It is derived from the Hebrew words מי כמו אל (mi kamo el), which translate to "Who is like God?". The name Michael was initially used in the Bible to refer to one of the archangels, and it gained popularity among Christians and Jews alike.
The name Michella emerged as a variant spelling in several European languages, including Italian, Spanish, and French. In Italian, the name is spelled Michela, while in Spanish and French, it is spelled Michella. The earliest recorded use of the name Michella dates back to the late Middle Ages, although it was not as widespread as its masculine counterpart, Michael.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Michella was Michella de Rouvray, a French noblewoman who lived in the 14th century. She was the wife of Jean de Rouvray, a prominent knight during the Hundred Years' War between England and France.
In the 16th century, Michella de la Vega was a Spanish poet and writer who gained recognition for her works during the Golden Age of Spanish literature. She was born in Seville in 1550 and passed away in 1620.
During the 17th century, Michella Gozzadini was an Italian painter and engraver who was born in Bologna in 1624. She is known for her religious paintings and engravings, many of which can be found in churches and galleries throughout Italy.
In the 18th century, Michella Ferrero was an Italian mathematician and philosopher who made significant contributions to the fields of calculus and natural philosophy. She was born in Turin in 1728 and died in 1799.
Another notable figure with the name Michella was Michella Caetani, an Italian noblewoman and philanthropist who lived in the 19th century. She was born in Rome in 1824 and devoted her life to charitable causes, establishing several schools and hospitals for the underprivileged.
While the name Michella has its roots in ancient Hebrew and gained popularity in various European cultures, it has maintained a more niche presence throughout history compared to its masculine counterpart, Michael. However, it continues to be used as a feminine variant, carrying with it the essence of the original Hebrew meaning, "Who is like God?".
People
Michella + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Michella 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
Michella: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Michella?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 992 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Michella 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 345,518 US residents.
Is Michella a common name?
We classify Michella as "Very Rare". It ranks above 90.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,098 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Michella most popular?
The single biggest year for Michella was 1990, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Michella is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Michella in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 982 people with the name Michella, or 0.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,612 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 Michella 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 Michella?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Michella appears almost entirely female. Of the 983 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 Michella?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Michella is White at 48.5%. The next largest groups are Black (29.3%) and Hispanic (12.2%). 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 Michella most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Michella in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.5% (476 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 Michella in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Michella a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Michella 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 Michella still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Michella 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 Michella 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 Michella?
You can see how many Americans are named Michella on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.