Michi
A feminine Japanese name meaning "pathway" or "path".
Name Census estimates that about 91 living Americans carry the first name Michi. It is a predominantly female name (94.7% of registrations). The average person named Michi today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Michi births was 1973 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Michi. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Michi. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
91
~ 1 in 3,766,531 Americans
Peak year
1973
23 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
2005 SSA rank
#8,829
Tracked since 1916
Census
Michi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 515 people with the first name Michi, which placed it at #20,162 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
#20,162
National first-name rank
People counted
515
515 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
52.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Michi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Michi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 52.4%. The next largest groups are Black (16.5%) and Two or More Races (12.6%). 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 Michi 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 Michi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander52.4% · 270
- Black or African American16.5% · 85
- Two or more races12.6% · 65
- White11.5% · 59
- Hispanic or Latino6.6% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Michi
Michi leans heavily female at 94.7% of total registrations, but 8 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Michi as a male name
- Ranked #8,829 in 2005
- 8 male births in 2005
- Peak: 2005 (8 births)
Michi as a female name
- Ranked #18,258 in 2015
- 5 female births in 2015
- Peak: 1973 (23 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Michi leans strongly female. 450 people counted with this name were female (86.0%), compared with 73 male bearers (14.0%).
Popularity
Michi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Michi from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 36 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
Michi 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 Michi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Michis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Michi
The name Michi originated from the Japanese language and culture. It is a feminine name that has been in use since ancient times in Japan. The name Michi is derived from the Japanese word "michi," which means "path" or "road." It is believed to symbolize the journey of life and the quest for knowledge and enlightenment.
In Japanese mythology, Michi is associated with the Shinto goddess Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun and the universe. The name is also mentioned in several ancient Japanese texts and literary works, such as the Kojiki and the Man'yoshu, which are collections of ancient Japanese myths and poetry.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Michi was Michi no Tsukushi, a renowned Japanese poet who lived during the Heian period (794-1185 CE). She was known for her beautiful and evocative poetry, which often explored themes of nature and the human experience.
Another notable historical figure with the name Michi was Michi Nōgami, a Japanese feminist and activist who lived from 1891 to 1973. She was a pioneer in the women's rights movement in Japan and fought for gender equality and women's suffrage.
In the realm of Japanese art, Michi Kawakami (1913-1989) was a celebrated textile artist and designer. Her intricate and colorful designs were heavily influenced by traditional Japanese art forms and were widely acclaimed both in Japan and internationally.
Michi Saito (1898-1993) was a Japanese novelist and playwright who is best known for her novel "The Persimmon Tree and Other Stories." Her works often explored the complexities of human relationships and the struggles of women in Japanese society.
Michi Nishiura (1924-2005) was a Japanese-American artist and sculptor who was renowned for her abstract sculptures made from welded metal. Her work was heavily influenced by her experiences as a Japanese-American during World War II and explored themes of identity, displacement, and resilience.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Michi. The name continues to be popular in Japan and among Japanese communities around the world, carrying with it a rich cultural heritage and symbolic meaning.
People
Michi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Michi 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
Michi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Michi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 91 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Michi 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 3,766,531 US residents.
Is Michi a common name?
We classify Michi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 151 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Michi most popular?
The single biggest year for Michi was 1973, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Michi is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Michi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 515 people with the name Michi, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,162 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 Michi 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 Michi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Michi leans strongly female. 450 people counted with this name were female (86.0%), compared with 73 male bearers (14.0%). 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 Michi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Michi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 52.4%. The next largest groups are Black (16.5%) and Two or More Races (12.6%). 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 Michi most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Michi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.4% (270 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 Michi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Michi a female name?
Yes, 94.7% of people registered as Michi 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 Michi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Michi 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 Michi 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 named Michi?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.