Mycal
A masculine name of Greek origin representing the name "Michael".
Name Census estimates that about 137 living Americans carry the first name Mycal. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Mycal today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mycal births was 1988 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mycal. 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
137
~ 1 in 2,501,856 Americans
Peak year
1988
14 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2014 SSA rank
#9,357
Tracked since 1983
Census
Mycal in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 207 people with the first name Mycal, which placed it at #37,585 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
#37,585
National first-name rank
People counted
207
207 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
44.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mycal
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mycal is Black at 44.0%. The next largest groups are White (33.3%) and Two or More Races (13.5%). 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 Mycal 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 Mycal at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American44.0% · 91
- White33.3% · 69
- Two or more races13.5% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 3
Popularity
Mycal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mycal from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 61 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
Mycal 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 Mycal 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 Mycal
The given name Mycal has its origins in the ancient Greek language. It is derived from the Greek word "mykes," which means "mushroom." This connection to fungi likely stems from the name's association with the god of fertility and renewal, known as Mycus in Greek mythology.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Mycal can be traced back to ancient Greek texts and inscriptions from around the 5th century BCE. During this time, the name was primarily used by families living in the Mediterranean region, particularly in modern-day Greece and Turkey.
In the 2nd century CE, the name Mycal gained popularity among early Christian communities. It was believed that the name carried symbolic meanings of growth, rebirth, and divine nourishment, which aligned with the teachings of Christianity. Several early Christian scholars and writers bore the name, such as Mycal of Alexandria, who lived in the 3rd century CE and wrote extensively on theological matters.
During the Middle Ages, the name Mycal experienced a resurgence in popularity across Europe. One notable figure from this period was Mycal the Scribe, a 12th-century monk from England who was renowned for his calligraphy and illuminated manuscripts.
In the Renaissance era, the name Mycal was associated with the arts and sciences. Mycal Botticelli, an Italian painter born in 1445, was a prominent figure of the Florentine Renaissance. His works, such as "The Birth of Venus" and "Primavera," are considered masterpieces of the era.
Another significant historical figure with the name Mycal was Mycal Servetus, a Spanish theologian and polymath born in 1511. He made groundbreaking contributions to the study of anatomy and is credited with discovering pulmonary circulation. Unfortunately, his radical theological views led to his execution during the Protestant Reformation.
Throughout the centuries, the name Mycal has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including artists, scholars, and religious figures. While its origins can be traced back to ancient Greece, the name has transcended cultural boundaries and continues to be used in many parts of the world today.
People
Mycal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mycal 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
Mycal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mycal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 137 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mycal 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 2,501,856 US residents.
Is Mycal a common name?
We classify Mycal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 141 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mycal most popular?
The single biggest year for Mycal was 1988, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mycal is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mycal in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 207 people with the name Mycal, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,585 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 Mycal 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 Mycal?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mycal leans strongly male. 165 people counted with this name were male (80.1%), compared with 41 female bearers (19.9%). 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 Mycal?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mycal is Black at 44.0%. The next largest groups are White (33.3%) and Two or More Races (13.5%). 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 Mycal most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Mycal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.0% (91 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 Mycal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mycal a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mycal 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 Mycal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mycal 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 Mycal 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 Mycal?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.