2010
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Misho
A surname deriving from the Russian short form of the name Michael.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Misho. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Misho surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Misho in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Misho, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Misho
The surname MISHO has its origins in the Slavic regions of Eastern Europe, particularly in the countries of Bulgaria and North Macedonia. It dates back to the 9th and 10th centuries CE, during the early medieval period. The name is believed to have derived from the old Slavic word "misha," which means "bear" or "little bear." This suggests that the name may have originally been a nickname or descriptive term for someone who was perceived as strong, brave, or resembling a bear in some way.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname MISHO can be found in the Ravanitsa Manuscript, a 14th-century Bulgarian historical document that chronicles the lives of various aristocrats and dignitaries from that era. The manuscript mentions a certain Misho Draganov, who was a prominent landowner and nobleman in the region of modern-day Sofia, Bulgaria.
In the 15th century, the MISHO surname appeared in several official records and documents in the region of Macedonia, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire. One notable figure was Misho Angelov, a wealthy merchant and trader from the city of Ohrid, who lived between 1430 and 1498.
The name MISHO also has connections to various place names in Bulgaria and North Macedonia. For instance, the village of Mishovtsi in western Bulgaria is believed to have been named after an early settler or landowner with the surname MISHO. Similarly, the Mish Planina mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria may have derived its name from the same source.
Over the centuries, several variations and alternative spellings of the surname have emerged, including Mishov, Mishov, and Mishovič. One of the most prominent individuals with this name was Dimitar Mishov, a Bulgarian revolutionary and activist who fought for the liberation of Macedonia from Ottoman rule in the late 19th century. He was born in 1847 and died in 1907.
Another notable figure was Ivan Mishov, a Bulgarian painter and artist who lived from 1879 to 1949. He is renowned for his landscapes and depictions of rural life in Bulgaria during the early 20th century.
In more recent times, the surname MISHO has been associated with several accomplished individuals, such as Nikola Mishov, a Bulgarian footballer who played for various clubs in Europe in the 1990s and early 2000s, and Vanya Misheva, a contemporary Bulgarian novelist and writer.
Overall, the surname MISHO has a rich and diverse history that spans multiple centuries and regions in Eastern Europe, with connections to various place names, historical figures, and cultural traditions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Misho
Among Census respondents with the surname Misho, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Misho bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Misho surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.3% · 108
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Misho
Misho appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+3 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,867 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.8%) | Up 2,867 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Misho surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #151,532 | #148,665 | 1.9% |
| Count | 108 | 111 | 2.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Misho bearers went from 108 to 111 (+2.8% change). The surname moved up 2,867 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #148,665.
FAQ
Misho surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Misho?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Misho. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Misho?
Misho ranks #148,665 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 111 people with the surname Misho. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Misho.
Has Misho become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Misho went from 108 recorded bearers to 111. That is an increase of 3 (+2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #151,532 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Misho?
Among Census respondents with the surname Misho, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Misho in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.3% (108 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Misho appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.3%), Two or More Races (1.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Misho (2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Misho mean?
A surname deriving from the Russian short form of the name Michael. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Misho (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Misho?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.