Michelle
The French feminine of Michel, from the Hebrew Mikha’el, “who is like God?”
Popularity, 1880–2025
The French feminine of Michael; the Beatles' 1965 ballad 'Michelle' arrived just as it entered its long top-five run.
Michelle first shows up in the national records in 1915. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in every year from 1954 to 2007. It spent 15 years inside the top 10. Its biggest year was 1969, when 34,319 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 2 nationally. In 2025 it ranked No. 465 for girls. All told, 819,760 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Michele (226,063), Michel (14,094), Mikel (12,554), Michal (7,813), Michell (7,583), Mykel (4,157) (total births since 1880)
Other names that share a story: Shelly
Explore Michelle interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 17 | No. 3817 |
| 1920s | 97 | No. 2191 |
| 1930s | 293 | No. 918 |
| 1940s | 5,693 | No. 213 |
| 1950s | 46,779 | No. 47 |
| 1960s | 208,293 | No. 2 |
| 1970s | 249,130 | No. 2 |
| 1980s | 154,027 | No. 10 |
| 1990s | 86,532 | No. 22 |
| 2000s | 43,540 | No. 52 |
| 2010s | 17,358 | No. 125 |
| 2020s | 4,751 | No. 336 |
Births and rank shown for girls, 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.