Mikele
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "who is like God".
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the first name Mikele. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 50.4% of registrations being male. The average person named Mikele today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mikele births was 2002 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mikele. 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
125
~ 1 in 2,742,035 Americans
Peak year
2002
11 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2022 SSA rank
#11,815
Tracked since 1970
Census
Mikele in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 297 people with the first name Mikele, which placed it at #29,680 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
#29,680
National first-name rank
People counted
297
297 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
50.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mikele
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mikele is White at 50.8%. The next largest groups are Black (27.6%) and Hispanic (13.1%). 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 Mikele 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 Mikele at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.8% · 151
- Black or African American27.6% · 82
- Hispanic or Latino13.1% · 39
- Two or more races6.4% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Mikele
Mikele is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 131 total registrations, 66 (50.4%) were male and 65 (49.6%) were female.
Mikele as a male name
- Ranked #11,815 in 2022
- 6 male births in 2022
- Peak: 2019 (7 births)
Mikele as a female name
- Ranked #14,811 in 2002
- 6 female births in 2002
- Peak: 1972 (9 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mikele on both sides of the split. Of the 290 people counted with this name, 127 were male (43.8%) and 163 were female (56.2%).
Popularity
Mikele: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mikele from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 44 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
Mikele 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 Mikele 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 Mikele
The name Mikele has its origins in the Basque language, spoken in the Basque Country, a region straddling the western Pyrenees on the border between France and Spain. It is derived from the Basque words "mi" meaning "my" and "kele" meaning "soul" or "spirit," suggesting the meaning "my soul" or "my spirit."
The earliest recorded use of the name Mikele dates back to the 12th century, when it appeared in Basque historical records and documents. During this time, the Basque Country was a region of cultural and linguistic diversity, and the name Mikele likely reflected the unique traditions and beliefs of the Basque people.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Mikele was Mikele Navarro, a Basque writer and poet who lived in the 15th century. His work, which included poems and songs celebrating Basque culture and traditions, helped to preserve the rich linguistic heritage of the region.
In the 16th century, Mikele de Leizarraga, a Basque Protestant theologian and translator, made a significant contribution to the development of the Basque language by translating the Bible into Basque. His translation, published in 1571, is considered a landmark in Basque literature and a testament to the resilience of the Basque language and culture.
During the 17th century, Mikele de Iturriaga, a Basque military leader and politician, played a prominent role in the defense of the Basque territories against the expansionist policies of the Spanish Crown. His unwavering commitment to Basque autonomy and self-governance earned him a place in the annals of Basque history.
In the 19th century, Mikele Antzizar, a Basque writer and journalist, gained recognition for his works that explored the social and cultural issues facing the Basque people. His writings helped to raise awareness of the unique challenges and struggles faced by the Basque community during a time of rapid change and modernization.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who bore the name Mikele throughout history, each contributing to the rich tapestry of Basque culture and heritage. The name Mikele continues to be a cherished part of the Basque tradition, carrying with it a sense of identity, resilience, and connection to the ancient roots of the Basque people.
People
Mikele + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mikele 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
Mikele: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mikele?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 125 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mikele 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 2,742,035 US residents.
Is Mikele a common name?
We classify Mikele as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 131 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mikele most popular?
The single biggest year for Mikele was 2002, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mikele is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mikele in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 297 people with the name Mikele, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,680 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 Mikele 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 Mikele?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mikele on both sides of the split. Of the 290 people counted with this name, 127 were male (43.8%) and 163 were female (56.2%). 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 Mikele?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mikele is White at 50.8%. The next largest groups are Black (27.6%) and Hispanic (13.1%). 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 Mikele most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mikele in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.8% (151 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 Mikele in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mikele a male name?
Yes, 50.4% of people registered as Mikele 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 Mikele still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mikele 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 Mikele 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 Mikele?
Want to know how many Americans are named Mikele? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.