Michole
A feminine name derived from the Hebrew name Michael, meaning "who is like God?".
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the first name Michole. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Michole today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Michole births was 1981 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Michole. 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
132
~ 1 in 2,596,624 Americans
Peak year
1981
20 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
1993 SSA rank
#9,244
Tracked since 1969
Census
Michole in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 162 people with the first name Michole, which placed it at #43,512 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
#43,512
National first-name rank
People counted
162
162 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
45.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Michole
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Michole is Black at 45.1%. The next largest groups are White (38.9%) and Hispanic (8.6%). 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 Michole 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 Michole at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American45.1% · 73
- White38.9% · 63
- Hispanic or Latino8.6% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 5
- Two or more races3.1% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 2
Popularity
Michole: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Michole from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 77 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Michole 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 Michole 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 Michole
Michole is a feminine given name of French origin, derived from the Hebrew name Michael, which means "who is like God" or "one who is godlike." The name Michole gained popularity in the 16th century during the Renaissance period in France.
The name's roots can be traced back to the biblical figure Michael, an archangel mentioned in the Old Testament and the Qur'an. Michael is revered as a protector and leader of the heavenly hosts in Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions. The name Michael was widely used among the early Christians and later spread throughout Europe.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Michole can be found in the 16th-century French play "Les Précieuses Ridicules" by Molière, where a character bears this name. In literature, Michole is also the name of a character in the novel "Les Misérables" by Victor Hugo, published in 1862.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Michole. Michole Brause (1960-2022) was an American actress and director known for her work in theatre and television. Michole Gentry (born 1983) is an American professional basketball player who played in the WNBA for the Los Angeles Sparks and the Indiana Fever.
Michole Mercurio (born 1979) is an American actress and singer, best known for her role in the Broadway musical "The Lion King." Michole Hickingbottom (born 1976) is a former professional tennis player from the United States, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 64 in the world.
Michole Britz (born 1993) is a South African track and field athlete who specializes in the javelin throw and has represented her country at international competitions, including the Olympic Games and World Championships.
People
Michole + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Michole 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
Michole: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Michole?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 132 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Michole 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 2,596,624 US residents.
Is Michole a common name?
We classify Michole as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 142 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Michole most popular?
The single biggest year for Michole was 1981, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Michole is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Michole in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 162 people with the name Michole, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,512 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 Michole 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 Michole?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Michole leans strongly female. 150 people counted with this name were female (92.6%), compared with 12 male bearers (7.4%). 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 Michole?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Michole is Black at 45.1%. The next largest groups are White (38.9%) and Hispanic (8.6%). 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 Michole most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Michole in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.1% (73 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 Michole in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Michole a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Michole 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 Michole still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Michole 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 Michole 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 common is the name Michole?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Michole on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.