Misael
Torn between Misael and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
biblical name (Mishael), 'who is like God'
The story
Misael is the Spanish form of biblical Mishael, a Hebrew name shaped as a rhetorical question about God. In the Book of Daniel, Mishael is taken from Judah to the Babylonian court with Daniel, Hananiah, and Azariah. An official replaces all four names; Mishael becomes Meshach. The three companions later enter the fiery furnace under the imposed names, which is why many readers know Meshach better than the name he carried into exile. That imbalance is the heart of Misael's story. Naming can express affection and belonging, but renaming can also display authority. The text preserves both, allowing the earlier identity to remain audible even when the plot uses the new one. Scripture is not ordinary biography, and the episode predicts nothing about a modern bearer. It does give Misael a powerful double image: a name changed by command, and an older name that the telling itself refuses to erase.
How popular is Misael around the world?
In the United States, 1,965 babies were named Misael between 2020 and 2025. In Argentina, 653 newborns were given the name Misael in 2024.
Misael is on the official records of the United States, Argentina, Mexico City, Chile, Brazil and Spain.
United States
1 in 11,000
In the United States, 1,965 babies were named Misael between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Misael peaked in the 2000s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Argentina
1 in 1,000
In Argentina, 653 newborns were given the name Misael 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
Mexico City City
1 in 2,000
In Mexico City, there were 58 registrations of Misael 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
Chile
1 in 3,600
In Chile, 50 boys were registered as Misael 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, 20,176 people in Brazil were named Misael, ranked 1,061st, with a median age of 28.
Among people named Misael 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 1,033 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
Spain
1 in 59,000
In Spain, 763 residents are named Misael, ranked 1,699th among men, with a mean age of 38.7 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
Austria
last on record 2023
Misael is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
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)
Canada
last on record 2022
Misael is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
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
last on record 2010
Misael is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Puerto Rico
last on record 2024
Misael is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 589 babies have carried the name there 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)
Not on the record in England and Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, 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 the South Australia record for 1944 to 2017: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. 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 Misael
Most people given the name Misael in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Misael deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Misael 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 Misael fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Misael fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Misael to your family’s tree →