Michael
Hebrew Mikha’el, a rhetorical question rather than a description: “who is like God?”
Popularity, 1880–2025
The archangel who leads heaven's armies; no American boys' name of the past century has been given to more children, and its hold on the top spot lasted two generations.
Michael appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American boys in every year from 1880 to 2025. It has been the single most popular name for American boys in 44 different years, first in 1954 and most recently in 1998. Its biggest year was 1957, when 92,781 newborn boys received the name, ranking it No. 1 nationally. In 2025 it ranked No. 21 for boys. All told, 4,448,633 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Micheal (156,555), Mikael (6,239), Mikeal (2,405), Michaele (1,837), Mychael (1,590), Mickael (1,503) (total births since 1880)
Other names that share a story: Mike, Miguel, Mitchell, Makayla, Mikayla, Michaela
Explore Michael interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 3,558 | No. 46 |
| 1890s | 3,926 | No. 48 |
| 1900s | 5,220 | No. 44 |
| 1910s | 30,858 | No. 38 |
| 1920s | 37,893 | No. 47 |
| 1930s | 56,001 | No. 18 |
| 1940s | 336,568 | No. 5 |
| 1950s | 837,471 | No. 1 |
| 1960s | 833,092 | No. 1 |
| 1970s | 707,327 | No. 1 |
| 1980s | 663,807 | No. 1 |
| 1990s | 462,466 | No. 1 |
| 2000s | 250,715 | No. 2 |
| 2010s | 145,220 | No. 3 |
| 2020s | 52,631 | No. 12 |
Births and rank shown for boys, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.