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Worldwide Name Statistics

Michael

Ranked #1 - 1 in 1,455 people
US

Most common in

United States

3.5M bearers

World total

5,500,000

estimated living bearers

Global rank

#1

worldwide

Country breakdown

United States3.5M
Worldwide
~5.5M
rank #1
Rarity
1 in 1,455
of people globally
Gender split
100/0
male / female %
Countries covered
1
~3.5M in US

About the name Michael

There are an estimated 5,500,000 people named Michael alive worldwide today. That ranks Michael at #1 globally, with the highest concentrations in United States.

Michael originates from Hebrew (Mikha'el - 'who is like God?'). See more names with this origin on the Hebrew origin page.

In the United States, Michael is held by approximately 3,532,665 people, ranking #1 among first names. That works out to roughly 1064 per 100,000 Americans (or 1 in 94 U.S. residents).

Historically Michael is used overwhelmingly as a male name (99.5% male).

Michael appears in birth records going back to 1880. Use the chart below to see how its popularity has changed across decades, and the surname section to find common pairings.

Gender distribution

Based on historical birth records, this name is used predominantly male.

Male 99.5%Female 0.5%

Michael popularity by year

U.S. births per year for Michael, 1880 to 2025 (source: SSA name files).

Show data table
  1. 1880: 354
  2. 1881: 298
  3. 1882: 321
  4. 1883: 307
  5. 1884: 373
  6. 1885: 370
  7. 1886: 348
  8. 1887: 344
  9. 1888: 466
  10. 1889: 377
  11. 1890: 394
  12. 1891: 333
  13. 1892: 380
  14. 1893: 407
  15. 1894: 423
  16. 1895: 413
  17. 1896: 399
  18. 1897: 375
  19. 1898: 434
  20. 1899: 375
  21. 1900: 495
  22. 1901: 384
  23. 1902: 460
  24. 1903: 466
  25. 1904: 462
  26. 1905: 513
  27. 1906: 536
  28. 1907: 586
  29. 1908: 688
  30. 1909: 642
  31. 1910: 853
  32. 1911: 1,166
  33. 1912: 2,112
  34. 1913: 2,619
  35. 1914: 3,378
  36. 1915: 4,093
  37. 1916: 4,228
  38. 1917: 4,300
  39. 1918: 4,326
  40. 1919: 3,933
  41. 1920: 4,025
  42. 1921: 4,222
  43. 1922: 4,021
  44. 1923: 3,944
  45. 1924: 3,910
  46. 1925: 3,795
  47. 1926: 3,517
  48. 1927: 3,634
  49. 1928: 3,631
  50. 1929: 3,497
  51. 1930: 3,579
  52. 1931: 3,513
  53. 1932: 3,627
  54. 1933: 3,575
  55. 1934: 4,128
  56. 1935: 4,938
  57. 1936: 5,840
  58. 1937: 7,141
  59. 1938: 9,135
  60. 1939: 11k
  61. 1940: 13k
  62. 1941: 16k
  63. 1942: 22k
  64. 1943: 25k
  65. 1944: 27k
  66. 1945: 30k
  67. 1946: 41k
  68. 1947: 51k
  69. 1948: 53k
  70. 1949: 60k
  71. 1950: 65k
  72. 1951: 73k
  73. 1952: 79k
  74. 1953: 84k
  75. 1954: 89k
  76. 1955: 89k
  77. 1956: 91k
  78. 1957: 93k
  79. 1958: 91k
  80. 1959: 86k
  81. 1960: 84k
  82. 1961: 87k
  83. 1962: 85k
  84. 1963: 84k
  85. 1964: 83k
  86. 1965: 81k
  87. 1966: 80k
  88. 1967: 83k
  89. 1968: 82k
  90. 1969: 86k
  91. 1970: 86k
  92. 1971: 78k
  93. 1972: 72k
  94. 1973: 68k
  95. 1974: 68k
  96. 1975: 69k
  97. 1976: 67k
  98. 1977: 68k
  99. 1978: 68k
  100. 1979: 68k
  101. 1980: 69k
  102. 1981: 69k
  103. 1982: 69k
  104. 1983: 69k
  105. 1984: 68k
  106. 1985: 65k
  107. 1986: 65k
  108. 1987: 64k
  109. 1988: 65k
  110. 1989: 66k
  111. 1990: 66k
  112. 1991: 61k
  113. 1992: 55k
  114. 1993: 50k
  115. 1994: 45k
  116. 1995: 42k
  117. 1996: 39k
  118. 1997: 38k
  119. 1998: 37k
  120. 1999: 34k
  121. 2000: 32k
  122. 2001: 30k
  123. 2002: 28k
  124. 2003: 27k
  125. 2004: 26k
  126. 2005: 24k
  127. 2006: 23k
  128. 2007: 22k
  129. 2008: 21k
  130. 2009: 19k
  131. 2010: 17k
  132. 2011: 17k
  133. 2012: 16k
  134. 2013: 16k
  135. 2014: 16k
  136. 2015: 15k
  137. 2016: 14k
  138. 2017: 13k
  139. 2018: 12k
  140. 2019: 11k
  141. 2020: 9,857
  142. 2021: 9,177
  143. 2022: 8,914
  144. 2023: 8,450
  145. 2024: 8,245
  146. 2025: 8,107

Famous people named Michael

Linked from Wikidata. Click through for full biographies on Wikipedia.

Frequently asked questions

How many people are named Michael worldwide?

There are an estimated 5,500,000 people named Michael alive worldwide today, ranking #1 globally.

Is Michael a rare name?

Worldwide that works out to about 1 in 1,455 people. In the United States there are roughly 3,532,665 bearers, which is 1 in 94 Americans.

Is Michael a boy or girl name?

Based on historical birth records, Michael is used 99.5% male and 0.5% female.

Where does the name Michael come from?

Hebrew: Mikha'el - 'who is like God?'.

Who are famous people named Michael?

Michael Jordan - American basketball player (b. 1963).

Data sources

Every figure on this page is cited. See the methodology page for the full picture.

Last updated:

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