Micaela
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Meaning
variant spelling of Michaela, meaning 'who is like God?'
The story
Micaëla enters Carmen carrying a letter from Don José’s mother. In Bizet’s opera, she has come from the country to find him, bringing his family into the action through that ordinary errand. The name appears in this French operatic spelling, while Micaela is a feminine form of Michael used in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. Its Hebrew source, Mikha’el, means “Who is like God?” The rhetorical question implies that no person is God’s like; it is not a claim about the bearer. Later, Micaëla has to find José again, this time at a remote camp in the mountains. She is frightened of the place, but she has a more urgent message than the letter. His mother is dying, and Micaëla urges him to come home to her.
Micaela across languages
One shared root links 16 names across 6 languages.
Shared root: from Hebrew Mikha’el, "who is like God?" The question expresses that nobody is God’s equal; Michael is a biblical angel
The constellation
10 more branches of this family
How popular is Micaela around the world?
In the United States, 1,322 babies were named Micaela between 2020 and 2025. In Montevideo, 73 girls named Micaela were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
Micaela is on the official records of the United States, Montevideo, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Mexico City, Spain, Chile, Brazil, Canada, England and Wales and Austria.
United States
1 in 16,000
In the United States, 1,322 babies were named Micaela between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Micaela peaked in the 2000s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Montevideo City
1 in 3402011
In Montevideo, 73 girls named Micaela were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Argentina
1 in 1,800
In Argentina, 368 newborns were given the name Micaela in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Puerto Rico
1 in 2,300
In Puerto Rico, 8 babies were named Micaela in 2025, and 225 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Mexico City City
1 in 3,200
In Mexico City, there were 37 registrations of Micaela in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (3 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Spain
1 in 5,900
In Spain, 7,585 residents are named Micaela, the 344th most common name among women, with a mean age of 51.6 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Chile
1 in 7,100
In Chile, 25 girls were registered as Micaela in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Brazil
1 in 10,000
At the 2022 census, 19,882 people in Brazil were named Micaela, ranked 1,073rd, with a median age of 15.
Among people named Micaela living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 2,256 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Canada
1 in 46,000
In Canada, 8 girls named Micaela were born in 2024, ranked 2,463rd among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 65,000
In England and Wales, 9 girls named Micaela were born in 2025, ranked 2,788th among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 girl named Micaela was born in 2025, ranked 1,875th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Ireland
last on record 1998
Micaela is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
New Zealand
last on record 1997
Micaela is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
South Australia
last on record 2016
Micaela is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Micaela
Most people given the name Micaela in the United States were born between 1990 and 2019. The Micaela you meet today is most often in her 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Micaela deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Micaela truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Micaela fits with your family’s names and surname.
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