Mickell
It is an Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name Micheal, meaning "who is like God?"
Name Census estimates that about 178 living Americans carry the first name Mickell. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 72.7% of registrations being male. The average person named Mickell today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mickell births was 1993 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mickell. 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
178
~ 1 in 1,925,586 Americans
Peak year
1993
12 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2014 SSA rank
#11,376
Tracked since 1955
Census
Mickell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 340 people with the first name Mickell, which placed it at #27,081 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
#27,081
National first-name rank
People counted
340
340 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
50.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mickell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mickell is Black at 50.6%. The next largest groups are White (37.6%) and Hispanic (6.2%). 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 Mickell 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 Mickell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American50.6% · 172
- White37.6% · 128
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 21
- Two or more races4.1% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Mickell
Mickell is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 187 total registrations, 136 (72.7%) were male and 51 (27.3%) were female.
Mickell as a male name
- Ranked #13,382 in 2014
- 5 male births in 2014
- Peak: 1990 (9 births)
Mickell as a female name
- Ranked #11,376 in 1996
- 7 female births in 1996
- Peak: 1991 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mickell on both sides of the split. Of the 338 people counted with this name, 220 were male (65.1%) and 118 were female (34.9%).
Popularity
Mickell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mickell from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 66 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mickell 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 Mickell 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 Mickell
The name Mickell traces its origins to the ancient Germanic language group, particularly the Old English and Old Norse tongues spoken by the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings respectively. It is believed to have derived from the Germanic root "mik" or "mikh," which translates to "great" or "mighty." This root can also be found in other names like Michael and Michel.
During the Middle Ages, the name Mickell gained popularity across various parts of Europe, including England, Scotland, and Scandinavia. It was often used as a diminutive or shortened form of the more common name Michael, which was widely revered due to its association with the Archangel Michael in Christian tradition.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mickell can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This suggests that the name was already in use among the Anglo-Saxon population of England before the Norman Conquest.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Mickell. One such figure was Mickell of Northgate (1280-1349), a renowned English scholar and theologian who made significant contributions to the field of scholastic philosophy during the medieval period.
Another historical figure was Mickell the Brave (1490-1562), a Scottish warrior who fought alongside Mary, Queen of Scots, during the Scottish Reformation. His bravery and loyalty to the Scottish crown earned him a place in the annals of Scottish history.
In the realm of art, Mickell van der Leck (1570-1638) was a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his masterful portraits and religious scenes. His works can be found in several prestigious museums across Europe.
Moving forward in time, Mickell Faraday (1791-1867) was an English scientist who made groundbreaking discoveries in the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His contributions laid the foundation for modern electrical engineering and earned him widespread recognition as one of the greatest experimentalists of the 19th century.
Lastly, Mickell Phelps (1895-1964) was an American author and journalist who gained notoriety for his vivid accounts of the World War II era. His insightful reporting and captivating storytelling skills earned him critical acclaim during his lifetime.
People
Mickell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mickell 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
Mickell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mickell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 178 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mickell 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 1,925,586 US residents.
Is Mickell a common name?
We classify Mickell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 187 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mickell most popular?
The single biggest year for Mickell was 1993, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mickell is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mickell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 340 people with the name Mickell, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,081 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 Mickell 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 Mickell?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mickell on both sides of the split. Of the 338 people counted with this name, 220 were male (65.1%) and 118 were female (34.9%). 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 Mickell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mickell is Black at 50.6%. The next largest groups are White (37.6%) and Hispanic (6.2%). 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 Mickell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Mickell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.6% (172 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 Mickell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mickell a male name?
Yes, 72.7% of people registered as Mickell 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 Mickell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mickell 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 Mickell 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 Americans are named Mickell?
Want to know how many people share the name Mickell? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.