Michael
2025 SSA
2025 SSA
About Michael
Michael was the Number 1 American boys' name for almost half a century. While Michael has moved out of the Top 10 baby boy names, it's still widely used.
Michael for boys#21 US
How has Michael racked up this phenomenal record? Credit its use by parents of diverse ethnic and religious groups, and Michael's all-around likability, strength, and sincerity.
Michael was derived from the name Mikha’el, which comes from the rhetorical question mī kā’ēl, meaning "who is like God?" in Hebrew. In the Bible, Michael is the archangel who led the other angels to victory in a war against Satan, one of only two archangels (the other is Gabriel) recognized by Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.
Today, Michael may feel more like a dad name than a baby name. Substitutes you might consider include Micah, Malachi, Gabriel and Raphael.
Michael for girls#8188 US
While Michael is better known as one of the most popular boy names of the last century, you might be surprised to learn that it featured in the Top 1000 names for girls in the US, from 1938 until 1994. In the late 1970s and early 80s, during the heyday of The Waltons, which starred actress Michael Learned, it reached as high as the 300s
Derived from Hebrew and meaning "who is like God?", the name peaked in 1986 when 590 girls received name. By today's standards, that seems like a lot, however, given that 64286 boys were also called Michael in the same year, less than 1% of all American Michaels were girls.
What happened then? Our guess is that the rise of Michaela, the tenacity of Michael at the head of the boys' list, and the popularity of Michelle/Michele all conspired to knock Michael-for-girls off the list. And while boy-names-for-girls is a trend at the moment, similar sounding options like Myla, Micaiah, McCall, and McKinley have outshone it as an option. For now.
Given to just 15 girls in the US in a recent year, Michael is still sometimes chosen by Catholics as a female confirmation name, in honor of the saint.
Pronounced MY-kul.
As of October 2026, Michael ranked #21 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #1 in 1954, Nameberry popularity #59.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · boys | Births · boys | US rank · girls | Births · girls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #7 | 15,496 | #4,235 | 35 |
| 2015 | #9 | 14,497 | #4,120 | 36 |
| 2016 | #8 | 14,139 | #4,322 | 34 |
| 2017 | #12 | 12,723 | #4,282 | 34 |
| 2018 | #14 | 11,750 | — | 0 |
| 2019 | #14 | 10,614 | #4,314 | 33 |
| 2020 | #12 | 9,824 | — | 0 |
| 2021 | #17 | 9,136 | #4,918 | 27 |
| 2022 | #16 | 8,888 | — | 0 |
| 2023 | #16 | 8,416 | — | 0 |
| 2024 | #18 | 8,189 | — | 0 |
| 2025 | #21 | 8,094 | — | 0 |
World rankings
Michael for boys
Michael for girls
Similar names
These 40 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Michael.
Similar boy names
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Michael on lists
Famous Michaels
- Michael IBoy
IX, Byzantine emperors
- Michael IBoy
King of Romania
- Michael Asen IBoy
III, Tsars of Bulgaria
- MichaelBoy
grandson of Uzzi, great,grandson of patriarch Issachar (1 Chr. 7:3)
- MichaelBoy
Biblical archangel
- MichaelBoy
descendant of patriarch Benjamin (1 Chr. 8:16)
- MichaelBoy
son of Judean King Jehoshaphat (2 Chr. 21:2)
- Michael AlexandrovichBoy
Grand Duke of Russia
- Michael NikolaevichBoy
Grand Duke of Russia
- Michael the BraveBoy
Prince of Wallachia
- Michael Joseph JacksonBoy
American singer, dancer and songwriter
- Michael Jeffrey JordanBoy
American basketball player
- Michael CollinsBoy
American astronaut
- Michael CollinsBoy
Irish revolutionary leader
- Michael Kirk DouglasBoy
American actor
- Michael Philip "Mick" JaggerBoy
lead singer of English band The Rolling Stones
- Michael Landon (born Eugene Maurice Orowitz)Boy
American actor
- Michael Mario AndrettiBoy
American racing driver
- Michael Stanley DukakisBoy
American politician, governor of Massachusetts
- Michael Steven BubleBoy
Canadian singer
- Michael Dale "Mike" HuckabeeBoy
American politician, former governor of Arkansas
- Michael Richard "Mike" PenceBoy
48th Vice President of the United States
- Michael Rubens BloombergBoy
American politician, former mayor of New York City
- Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite)Boy
English actor
- Michael John Burkett aka Fat MikeBoy
lead singer of American band NOFX
- Michael John ClarkeBoy
Australian cricketer
- Michael Francis MooreBoy
American documentary filmmaker
- Michael LlodraBoy
French tennis player
- Michael Clarke DuncanBoy
American actor
- Michael CrabtreeBoy
American football player
- Michael John "Mike" MyersBoy
Canadian,American actor/comedian
- Michael Carl "Mike" BryanBoy
American tennis player
- Michael Gerard "Mike" TysonBoy
American boxer
- Michael Gordon "Mike" OldfieldBoy
English musician
- Michael Deane "Mike" HarrisBoy
Canadian politician, former premier of Ontario
- Michael Scudamore RedgraveBoy
English actor
- (Robert) Michael NesmithBoy
American musician of The Monkees
- Michael Keaton (born Michael John Douglas)Boy
American actor
- Michael EalyBoy
American actor
- Michael EmersonBoy
American actor
- Michael FassbenderBoy
German,Irish actor
- Michael J. (Andrew) FoxBoy
Canadian,American actor
- Michael John GambonBoy
Irish actor
- Michael Carlyle HallBoy
American actor
- Michael Soren MadsenBoy
American actor
- Michael J. HarneyBoy
American actor
- Michael JonesBoy
American YouTuber
- Michael David Kors (born Karl Anderson Jr.)Boy
American fashion designer
- Michael OmartianBoy
American singer,songwriter and producer
- Michael Manning Weatherly JrBoy
American actor
- Michael Hazen James McIntyreBoy
English comedian
- Michael Morpurgo (born Michael Andrew Bridge)Boy
English children's author
- Michael John NelsonBoy
American comedian
- Michael Edward Killeen HusseyBoy
Australian cricketer
- Michael NigroBoy
American actor
- Michael Fred PhelpsBoy
American Olympic swimmer
- Michael "Mike" PilavachiBoy
British evangelist
- Michael RookerBoy
American actor
- Michael SchumacherBoy
German racing driver
- Michael ScottBoy
Irish author
- Michael Anthony StrahanBoy
American NFL football player and talk show host
- Michael Dwayne VickBoy
American NFL football player
- Michael McDonaldBoy
American singer of The Doobie Brothers
- Michael Mackintosh FootBoy
British MP
- Michael Andrew Foster Jude KerrBoy
13th Marquess of Lothian, Baron Kerr of Monteviot, British MP
- Michael Terry WeissBoy
American actor
- Michael Austin CeraBoy
American actor
- (John) Michael StipeBoy
lead singer of American band R.E.M.
- Michael Anthony BeachBoy
American actor
- Michael Ian BlackBoy
American actor/comedian
- Michael Willy SchenkerBoy
German guitarist of band UFO
- Michael James OwenBoy
English footballer
- Michael MedvedBoy
American radio host
- Michael Donald KirbyBoy
former Australian High Court justice
- Michael Leonard BreckerBoy
American jazz saxophonist
- Michael Rex GilesBoy
drummer of English band King Crimson
- Michael LaudrupBoy
Danish footballer
- Michael GrantBoy
American novelist
- (George) Michael Sinclair KennedyBoy
English biographer and music critic
- Michael Ryan PritchardBoy
birth name of Mike Dirnt, bassist for American band Green DayDa
- Michael James "Mikey" WayBoy
bassist for American rock band My Chemical Romance
- Michael Gordon CliffordBoy
musician of Australian band 5 Seconds Of Summer
- Michael RaymondBoy
James, American actor
- Michael Whitaker SmithBoy
American Christian Musician
- Michael StevensBoy
American vlogger & creator of science channel brand Vsauce
- Michael Daniel HigginsBoy
9th President of Ireland
- Michael ParsonsBoy
American ice dancer
- Michael JungBoy
German horse rider
- Michael DornBoy
American actor and voice artist
- Michael RichardsBoy
American actor, writer, television producer and comedian
- Michael BayBoy
American filmmaker
- Michael ChertoffBoy
2nd United States Secretary of Homeland Security
- Michael BufferBoy
American ring announcer for boxing and proffesional wrestling
- Michael ZazarinoBoy
actor
- Johann Michael HaydnBoy
Austrian composer
- Michael "Mike" Christopher FuentesBoy
drummer of band Pierce the Veil
- Michael Bakari JordanBoy
American actor
- Michael Robert WahlbergBoy
son of American actor Mark Wahlberg
- Michael Richard WayansBoy
son of actor Damon Wayans
- Michael James Duggar (b. 2011)Boy
son of reality TV personalities Josh and Anna Duggar
- Michael "Mike" ShinodaBoy
of band Linkin Park
- Michael KucharskiBoy
Australian YouTuber, also known as Slazo
- Michael "Mike" ZapcicBoy
star of AMC's Comic Book Men
- Michael CampionBoy
American actor
- Michael KnowlesBoy
American commentator
- ParisGirl
Michael Katherine Jackson, daughter of the late Michael Jackson
- Michael LearnedGirl
American actress
- Susan Nancy Thomas "Michael Steele"Girl
bassist for American bands The Runaways and The Bangles
- Michael Williams MicheleGirl
American actress
- Michael Margaret StewartGirl
6th First Lady of Alaska as wife of Governor Steve Cowper
- Charlene "Michael" HyattGirl
British,born American actress
- Michael Christian Bates "Michaela" Keilen (b. 1990)Girl
2nd child of the reality TV show "Bringing Up Bates" family
- Lauren Michael HollyGirl
American actress
Michael in pop culture
- Michael PooleBoy
a character in Stephen Baxter's "Xeelee Sequence"
- Michael CorleoneBoy
main character in "The Godfather" trilogy
- Michael LangdonBoy
character in "American Horror Story"
- Ponyboy Michael CurtisBoy
main character in S.E. Hinton's "The Outsiders"
- Michael "Mike" WazowskiBoy
main character in Pixar's "Monsters, Inc."
- Michael ScottBoy
character on American TV's version of "The Office"
- Michael BluthBoy
character on TV's "Arrested Development"
- Michael KelsoBoy
character on TV's "That '70s Show"
- Michael WeaverBoy
character in Myra McEntire's Hourglass series
- Michael SamuelleBoy
character on TV's "La Femme Nikita"
- Michael James "Mike" RossBoy
character on TV's "Suits"
- Michael grayBoy
character on bbc’s Peaky blinders
- Michael GlassBoy
character in "Morganville Vampires" series
- Michael Aaron "Mike" SeaverBoy
character on TV's "Growing Pains"
- Michael ScofieldBoy
main character on TV's "Prison Break"
- Michael VaughnBoy
character on TV's "Alias" played by Michael Vartan
- Michael MoscovitzBoy
character in "The Princess Diaries" series
- Michael De SantaBoy
character in video game "Grand Theft Auto 5"
- Michael J. CabooseBoy
character in web series "Red vs Blue"
- MichaelBoy
archangel on TV's "Supernatural"
- Michael HobbsBoy
character in movie "Elf"
- Michael RobertsBoy
character in movie "Small Island"
- Michael TietjensBoy
character in movie "Parade's End"
- Michael NewmanBoy
character in movie "Click"
- Michael Edward MoonBoy
character on British soap "EastEnders"
- Michael DawsonBoy
character on TV's "Lost"
- Michael ZhangBoy
character in video game "The Sims"
- Michael BachelorBoy
character in video game "The Sims"
- Michael McCarthyBoy
character in video game "The Sims"
- Michael "Mick" TaylorBoy
character in "Wolf Creek"
- Michael VeyBoy
main character Richard Paul Evans' book series
- Michael BecketBoy
character in the video game series "F.E.A.R."
- Michael "Mike" Rollins / SteelBoy
character in the book "After the Hole" and it's film adaptation "The Hole"
- Michael Corinthos IIIBoy
character on soap "General Hospital"
- Michael MyersBoy
main character in the "Halloween" movie series
- MichaelBoy
character in Barney's Backyard Gang
- Michael "Mike" MunroeBoy
character in video game "Until Dawn"
- Michael Jon Carter aka Booster GoldBoy
character in DC Unierse
- Michael PattersonBoy
character in comic strip "For Better or for Worse"
- Michael "Mike" WheelerBoy
character in "Stranger Things"
- Michael DeetsBoy
character in "South Park"
- MichaelBoy
character in "South Park"
- "MichaelBoy
" movie about the angel starring John Travolta
- "MichaelBoy
Row the Boat Ashore," gospel song
- "MichaelBoy
" song by Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand
- Michael KingBoy
pseudonym used early in the career of real life
- Brooklyn Born Political Leader Rabbi Meir Kahane (1932Boy
90)
- Michael "Mike" CrewBoy
character on "The Magnus Archives"
- MichaelBoy
a different character on "The Magnus Archives"
- "Michael, a Pastoral"Boy
A ballad in William Wordsworth's collection of poems, "Lyrical Ballads"
- Michael BurnhamGirl
a lead female character on "Star Trek: Discovery"