Michael
Torn between Michael and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
who is like God
Goes by Mick, Mickey, Mike, Mikey. See all nicknames
Immortalized by Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972). Famously borne by Michael Jordan and Michael Phelps.
The story
Michael is a question rather than a statement: the Hebrew Mikha'el asks who is like God, and in scripture it belongs to the archangel who leads the armies of heaven. It kept a steady, modest presence in America for decades until the 1940s, when it caught an updraft that barely paused for half a century. Michael became the number one boys' name in the mid-1950s and held the top spot almost without interruption into the late 1990s, a run of dominance few American names have ever matched. The chart below shows it plainly: a long climb, a high plateau through the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, then a slow descent as the sons of all those Michaels looked elsewhere for their own children. It remains everywhere in adult life, of course: a whole American generation still answers to it.
Michael 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
11 more branches of this family
Michael in song
Michael
The Highwaymen (1960)
A college folk group's arrangement of an old spiritual first written down in the South Carolina Sea Islands, sung by boatmen rowing to shore, recorded in 1960 and a number one hit by 1961.
On record since at least 840: Michael III, Byzantine emperor.
How popular is Michael around the world?
In the United States, 52,750 babies were named Michael between 2020 and 2025. In Ireland, 188 boys named Michael were born in 2025, the 22nd most common name among boys that year.
Michael is on the official records of the United States, Ireland, South Australia, Austria, Scotland, Canada, Montevideo, England and Wales, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Norway, New South Wales, Brazil, Mexico City, Chile, Argentina, Poland, Spain and France.
Michael crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 410
In the United States, 52,750 babies were named Michael between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Michael peaked in the 1960s and the 1980s in nearly equal measure. Michael went to 14,540 US babies in 2015 and 8,107 in 2025, 56% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Ireland
1 in 290
In Ireland, 188 boys named Michael were born in 2025, the 22nd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
South Australia
1 in 5302017
In South Australia, 35 boys were registered as Michael in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Austria
1 in 590
In Austria, 130 boys named Michael were born in 2025, the 61st most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
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)
Scotland
1 in 590
In Scotland, 77 boys named Michael were registered in 2024, the 66th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Canada
1 in 790
In Canada, 462 boys named Michael were born in 2024, the 53rd most common name among boys 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)
Montevideo City
1 in 9102011
In Montevideo, 27 boys named Michael 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
England and Wales
1 in 950
In England and Wales, 615 boys named Michael were born in 2025, the 85th most common name among boys 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
New Zealand
1 in 1,000
In New Zealand, 55 boys named Michael were registered in 2025.
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
Puerto Rico
1 in 1,200
In Puerto Rico, 15 babies were named Michael in 2025, and 4,469 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)
Norway
1 in 1,200register 2026
In Norway, 23 boys were given the name Michael in 2025.
share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
New South Wales
#62 · 2025
In New South Wales, 128 boys named Michael were registered in 2025, ranked 62nd in that year’s top 100 for boys.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Brazil
1 in 3,100
At the 2022 census, 65,688 people in Brazil were named Michael, the 463rd most common name, with a median age of 27.
Among people named Michael living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 1,686 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
Mexico City City
1 in 3,600
In Mexico City, there were 33 registrations of Michael 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, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Chile
1 in 4,300
In Chile, 41 boys were registered as Michael 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
Argentina
1 in 5,700
In Argentina, 117 newborns were given the name Michael 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
Poland
1 in 6,500
In Poland, 38 boys named Michael were born in 2025, the 202nd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Spain
1 in 7,600
In Spain, 5,877 residents are named Michael, the 379th most common name among men, with a mean age of 39.3 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
France
1 in 13,000
In France, about 50 boys named Michael were born in 2025, the 766th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Michael, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
When you meet Michael
Most people given the name Michael in the United States were born between 1950 and 1999. The Michael you meet today is most often in his 40s or 50s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Michael travels
Arab American · who is like God (common both among Muslim families honoring the archangel Mikail and Christian Arab American families)
Filipino American · who is like God (a classic Filipino Catholic and English crossover name)
Vietnamese American · who is like God (a classic refugee-generation English/baptismal name)
Keep exploring
Nicknames for Michael · Arab American baby names · Filipino American baby names · Vietnamese American baby names · Climbers and fallers
The Michael deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Michael 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 Michael fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Michael fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Michael to your family’s tree →