Mitch
A masculine name of English origin meaning "one who behaves badly".
Name Census estimates that about 4,865 living Americans carry the first name Mitch. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Mitch today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mitch births was 1961 (401 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mitch. 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 Mitch with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
4.9K
~ 1 in 70,453 Americans
Peak year
1961
401 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,097
Tracked since 1916
Census
Mitch in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 12,856 people with the first name Mitch, which placed it at #2,096 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
#2,096
National first-name rank
People counted
13K
12,856 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
87.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mitch
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mitch is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Black (3.4%). 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 Mitch 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 Mitch at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.2% · 11,215
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 470
- Black or African American3.4% · 435
- Two or more races2.4% · 309
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 304
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 123
Popularity
Mitch: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mitch from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 2,014 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
Mitch 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 Mitch during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mitchs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 34 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Mitch, while Arkansas, Montana, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 79 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mitch
The name Mitch is a diminutive form of the name Michael, which has its origins in the Hebrew name Micha'el. Micha'el is a combination of two Hebrew words: "mi" meaning "who" and "el" meaning "God." The name was initially used in the Bible, referring to the archangel Michael, one of the principal angels in the Judeo-Christian tradition.
In its diminutive form, Mitch emerged as a nickname for Michael in the Middle Ages, particularly in England and other parts of Europe. The earliest recorded use of Mitch as a given name dates back to the 13th century, when it was used as an abbreviated version of Michael, primarily among the working class and rural communities.
One of the earliest known historical figures named Mitch was Mitch Vaughan, an English knight who lived in the late 14th century. He was a loyal supporter of King Richard II and played a significant role in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381.
Another notable figure was Mitch Culpeper, a 16th-century English botanist and herbalist who wrote extensively on the medicinal properties of plants. His work, "The English Physitian," published in 1652, became a seminal text in the field of herbal medicine.
In the 18th century, Mitch Cary, an American surveyor and explorer, gained fame for his detailed mapping of the Chesapeake Bay region. His work facilitated the westward expansion of the American colonies and the establishment of new settlements.
During the American Civil War, Mitch Oppenheim was a Union Army officer who played a crucial role in the Battle of Gettysburg. His bravery and leadership earned him the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration in the United States.
In the 20th century, Mitch Miller, an American musician and record executive, became a household name for his work as the host of the popular television series "Sing Along with Mitch." His show introduced many classic songs to a wide audience and helped popularize the sing-along format in the entertainment industry.
While the name Mitch has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has been carried by individuals from various backgrounds and professions, each leaving their mark on their respective fields and communities.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Mitch
People
Mitch + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mitch 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
Mitch: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mitch?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,865 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mitch 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 70,453 US residents.
Is Mitch a common name?
We classify Mitch as "Rare". It ranks above 96.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,564 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mitch most popular?
The single biggest year for Mitch was 1961, when 401 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mitch is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mitch in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 12,856 people with the name Mitch, or 4.26 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,096 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 Mitch 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 Mitch?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mitch appears almost entirely male. Of the 12,863 people counted with this name, 99.3% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Mitch?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mitch is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Black (3.4%). 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 Mitch most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mitch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.2% (11,215 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 Mitch in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mitch a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mitch 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 Mitch still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mitch 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 Mitch 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 Mitch?
Find out how many people share the name Mitch on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.