Michael

#7,885 for girls in 2025, 13 births · #21 for boys in 2025, 8,094 births
Given to boys 99.5% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
1957 · 92,781 births
Debut · boys
354 births
In top 100 · boys
146 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · boys
4,426,753
since 1880

Michael over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100rank188019001920194019601980200020201976peak #1, 1957boys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#7,88513#218,094
2024#6,93216#188,229
2023#5,96020#168,430
2022#6,22919#168,895
2021#4,83327#179,150
2020#5,16824#129,833
2019#4,26033#1410,619
2018#6,01020#1411,756
2017#4,22034#1212,726
2016#4,25034#814,145
2015#4,06936#914,504
2014#4,17835#715,505
2013#3,84939#715,544
2012#5,11427#716,211
2011#4,07236#616,823
2010#4,02337#317,387
2009#3,56145#318,964
2008#3,08455#220,652
2007#3,24752#222,027
2006#2,75764#222,653
2005#2,73161#223,828
2004#1,404148#225,470
2003#1,92594#227,129
2002#1,86695#228,258
2001#1,83396#229,689
2000#1,558114#232,045
1999#1,422123#233,915
1998#1,359128#136,618
1997#1,249142#137,562
1996#1,155157#138,373
1995#1,067167#141,409
1994#965192#144,477
1993#870223#149,571
1992#789258#154,410
1991#769267#160,810
1990#747277#165,321
1989#594363#165,415
1988#472480#164,171
1987#410544#163,664
1986#392590#164,235
1985#419531#164,934
1984#419508#167,735
1983#385577#168,004
1982#403576#168,216
1981#439487#168,750
1980#409546#168,683
1979#393554#167,713
1978#384545#167,127
1977#378560#167,587
1976#398515#166,915
1975#373557#168,418
1974#392525#167,534
1973#431451#167,797
1972#431452#171,393
1971#448459#177,577
1970#461457#185,266
1969#449459#185,162
1968#440471#181,968
1967#494373#182,411
1966#509346#179,985
1965#504355#180,992
1964#565303#182,617
1963#501376#183,771
1962#519356#185,059
1961#546324#186,974
1960#547316#284,153
1959#587285#185,294
1958#572295#190,604
1957#611255#192,781
1956#620238#190,691
1955#577250#188,355
1954#616217#188,568
1953#581232#384,198
1952#644190#479,037
1951#668172#472,807
1950#640179#465,136
1949#602188#560,047
1948#637170#652,566
1947#635173#750,506
1946#611169#741,194
1945#583158#929,902
1944#562168#926,717
1943#550188#1024,745
1942#593156#1321,728
1941#71397#1615,935
1940#79080#1813,228
1939#76381#1810,828
1938#93158#219,077
1937#1,03547#277,094
1936#1,11540#335,800
1935#1,26432#414,906
1934#1,69720#474,108
1933#1,44226#533,549
1932#1,75420#543,607
1931#1,54924#553,489
1930#1,25136#543,543
1929#1,30633#543,464
1928#1,33833#533,598
1927#1,52329#523,605
1926#1,41432#563,485
1925#1,37634#553,761
1924#1,35436#543,874
1923#1,52029#503,915
1922#1,46431#483,990
1921#1,76524#474,198
1920#1,81622#504,003
1919#1,64924#463,909
1918#1,41130#454,296
1917#2,55212#444,288
1916#1,86718#444,210
1915#2,14314#434,079
1914#1,66516#403,362
1913#1,76612#402,607
1912#2,1448#422,104
1911#1,9567#381,159
1910#1,6349#45844
1909#1,7637#47635
1908—#44688
1907—#48586
1906#1,9515#46531
1905—#45513
1904—#50462
1903—#47466
1902—#48460
1901—#52384
1900—#51495
1899—#51375
1898—#51434
1897#1,2637#57368
1896—#53399
1895—#52413
1894—#50423
1893—#49407
1892—#59380
1891—#54333
1890—#48394
1889—#51377
1888—#46466
1887—#48344
1886—#53348
1885—#46370
1884—#51373
1883—#55307
1882—#57321
1881—#54298
1880—#46354
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Michael was already there! It came in at #46, and was given to 354 baby boys.


Quietest stretch: 1880–1887, when fewer than 380 boys a year got the name.

Where Michael is popular in 1976

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: #2 for boys · 134 births · 1 in 22 boysAKMaine: #2 for boys · 284 births · 1 in 23 boysMEVermont: #2 for boys · 121 births · 1 in 22 boysVTNew Hampshire: #2 for boys · 240 births · 1 in 20 boysNHWashington: #2 for boys · 949 births · 1 in 25 boysWAIdaho: #1 for boys · 267 births · 1 in 27 boysIDMontana: #1 for boys · 227 births · 1 in 22 boysMTNorth Dakota: #2 for boys · 234 births · 1 in 21 boysNDMinnesota: #1 for boys · 1,143 births · 1 in 24 boysMNIllinois: #1 for boys · 3,678 births · 1 in 21 boysILWisconsin: #2 for boys · 1,297 births · 1 in 24 boysWIMichigan: #1 for boys · 2,909 births · 1 in 21 boysMINew York: #1 for boys · 5,917 births · 1 in 19 boysNYMassachusetts: #1 for boys · 2,034 births · 1 in 16 boysMARhode Island: #1 for boys · 362 births · 1 in 14 boysRIOregon: #2 for boys · 626 births · 1 in 26 boysORNevada: #1 for boys · 213 births · 1 in 17 boysNVWyoming: #2 for boys · 102 births · 1 in 26 boysWYSouth Dakota: #2 for boys · 188 births · 1 in 26 boysSDIowa: #2 for boys · 778 births · 1 in 25 boysIAIndiana: #2 for boys · 1,677 births · 1 in 23 boysINOhio: #1 for boys · 3,711 births · 1 in 20 boysOHPennsylvania: #1 for boys · 4,155 births · 1 in 17 boysPANew Jersey: #1 for boys · 2,543 births · 1 in 16 boysNJConnecticut: #1 for boys · 950 births · 1 in 17 boysCTCalifornia: #1 for boys · 6,180 births · 1 in 26 boysCAUtah: #1 for boys · 622 births · 1 in 26 boysUTColorado: #1 for boys · 758 births · 1 in 25 boysCONebraska: #2 for boys · 449 births · 1 in 24 boysNEMissouri: #1 for boys · 1,510 births · 1 in 22 boysMOKentucky: #1 for boys · 1,237 births · 1 in 22 boysKYWest Virginia: #1 for boys · 664 births · 1 in 20 boysWVVirginia: #1 for boys · 1,469 births · 1 in 21 boysVAMaryland: #1 for boys · 1,066 births · 1 in 19 boysMDDelaware: #1 for boys · 220 births · 1 in 15 boysDEArizona: #1 for boys · 768 births · 1 in 23 boysAZNew Mexico: #1 for boys · 344 births · 1 in 27 boysNMKansas: #2 for boys · 616 births · 1 in 25 boysKSArkansas: #2 for boys · 613 births · 1 in 24 boysARTennessee: #1 for boys · 1,269 births · 1 in 23 boysTNNorth Carolina: #1 for boys · 1,543 births · 1 in 23 boysNCSouth Carolina: #2 for boys · 790 births · 1 in 25 boysSCDistrict of Columbia: #1 for boys · 371 births · 1 in 21 boysDCOklahoma: #1 for boys · 864 births · 1 in 22 boysOKLouisiana: #1 for boys · 1,092 births · 1 in 28 boysLAMississippi: #2 for boys · 732 births · 1 in 25 boysMSAlabama: #1 for boys · 1,054 births · 1 in 24 boysALGeorgia: #1 for boys · 1,571 births · 1 in 23 boysGAHawaii: #1 for boys · 230 births · 1 in 27 boysHITexas: #1 for boys · 3,944 births · 1 in 27 boysTXFlorida: #1 for boys · 2,200 births · 1 in 21 boysFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · boys
  1. Rhode Island#1 · 1 in 14
  2. Delaware#1 · 1 in 15
  3. Massachusetts#1 · 1 in 16
  4. New Jersey#1 · 1 in 16
  5. Connecticut#1 · 1 in 17

Best ever in a state: #1 in Hawaii, 1948.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
Alabama#11,0541 in 24
Arizona#17681 in 23
California#16,1801 in 26
Colorado#17581 in 25
Connecticut#19501 in 17
Delaware#12201 in 15
District of Columbia#13711 in 21
Florida#12,2001 in 21
Georgia#11,5711 in 23
Hawaii#12301 in 27
Idaho#12671 in 27
Illinois#13,6781 in 21
Kentucky#11,2371 in 22
Louisiana#11,0921 in 28
Maryland#11,0661 in 19
Massachusetts#12,0341 in 16
Michigan#12,9091 in 21
Minnesota#11,1431 in 24
Missouri#11,5101 in 22
Montana#12271 in 22
Nevada#12131 in 17
New Jersey#12,5431 in 16
New Mexico#13441 in 27
New York#15,9171 in 19
North Carolina#11,5431 in 23
Ohio#13,7111 in 20
Oklahoma#18641 in 22
Pennsylvania#14,1551 in 17
Rhode Island#13621 in 14
Tennessee#11,2691 in 23
Texas#13,9441 in 27
Utah#16221 in 26
Virginia#11,4691 in 21
West Virginia#16641 in 20
Alaska#21341 in 22
Arkansas#26131 in 24
Indiana#21,6771 in 23
Iowa#27781 in 25
Kansas#26161 in 25
Maine#22841 in 23
Mississippi#27321 in 25
Nebraska#24491 in 24
New Hampshire#22401 in 20
North Dakota#22341 in 21
Oregon#26261 in 26
South Carolina#27901 in 25
South Dakota#21881 in 26
Vermont#21211 in 22
Washington#29491 in 25
Wisconsin#21,2971 in 24
Wyoming#21021 in 26

Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the boys born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Michael
Momentum · boys
Falling
  • 3 spots since 2024 (#18 → #21)
  • 9 spots since 2020 (#12 → #21)
  • 12 spots since 2015 (#9 → #21)
  • Biggest jump: 10 spots in 1893 (#59 → #49)
  • Biggest drop: 8 spots in 1881 (#46 → #54)
Rise & fade · boys
77 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1957 at #1 (92,781 births)
  • Births halved by 1994, 37 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 10 for 74 yrs
  • Top 10: 74 yrs · run 1943–2016
  • Top 100: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
  • Top 1,000: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
Share of babies · boys
1 in 21
  • Highest: 1 in 21 boys born in 1969 were named Michael (4.8%)
  • Latest: 1 in 211 boys born in 2025 (0.47%)
  • Its best rank, #1 in 1957, was only 1 in 23 (4.3%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 1950s
  • 18.9% of all boys named Michael (837,471) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s3,558#46 (1888)#51
1890s3,926#48 (1890)#52
1900s5,220#44 (1908)#48
1910s30,858#38 (1911)#43
1920s37,893#47 (1921)#52
1930s56,001#18 (1939)#40
1940s336,568#5 (1949)#10
1950s837,471#1 (1957)#2
1960s833,092#1 (1961)#1
1970s707,327#1 (1970)#1
1980s663,807#1 (1981)#1
1990s462,466#1 (1990)#1
2000s250,715#2 (2000)#2
2010s145,220#3 (2010)#9
2020s52,631#12 (2020)#17

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Michael in 1976

girls
#398
515 births · 1 in 2,845 girls
boys
#1
66,915 births · 1 in 23 boys

Top girls' names in 1976

  1. #1Jennifer59,473
  2. #2Amy31,339
  3. #3Melissa25,094
  4. #4Heather24,192
  5. #5Angela22,038
  6. #6Michelle19,550
  7. #7Kimberly18,962
  8. #8Jessica18,368
  9. #9Lisa17,346
  10. #10Amanda15,588
  11. #398Michael515

Top boys' names in 1976

  1. #1Michael66,915
  2. #2Jason52,643
  3. #3Christopher45,190
  4. #4David39,265
  5. #5James38,294
  6. #6John33,976
  7. #7Robert33,789
  8. #8Brian30,517
  9. #9Matthew29,951
  10. #10Daniel24,702
More about 1976

girls

1,465,099 girls got a published name in 1976; 1 in 2,845 of them was named Michael, which outranked 96.4% of the 10,913 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 17.2% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Michael
  1. #395Misti521
  2. #396Nora517
  3. #397Cecilia516
  4. #398Michael515
  5. #399Jeannie513
  6. #399Vickie513
  7. #401Camille506
Biggest movers since 1975
Risers
  1. ↑ 3,548Rhiannon#4,141 → #593
  2. ↑ 3,533Mackenzie#4,370 → #837
  3. ↑ 3,060Khalilah#3,774 → #714
  4. ↑ 1,663Kenisha#2,612 → #949
  5. ↑ 1,455Latoria#2,411 → #956
Fallers
  1. ↓ 821Nyree#926 → #1,747
  2. ↓ 668Syreeta#778 → #1,446
  3. ↓ 505Cher#994 → #1,499
  4. ↓ 398Kandice#957 → #1,355
  5. ↓ 370Racquel#973 → #1,343

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

1,569,007 boys got a published name in 1976; 1 in 23 of them was named Michael, which outranked 100.0% of the 6,495 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 25.2% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Michael
  1. #1Michael66,915
  2. #2Jason52,643
  3. #3Christopher45,190
  4. #4David39,265
Biggest movers since 1975
Risers
  1. ↑ 3,506Seneca#4,309 → #803
  2. ↑ 1,165Jameel#2,134 → #969
  3. ↑ 712Delvin#1,658 → #946
  4. ↑ 567Jerimy#1,530 → #963
  5. ↑ 510Jamaal#1,042 → #532
Fallers
  1. ↓ 1,113Santino#1,000 → #2,113
  2. ↓ 511Carnell#900 → #1,411
  3. ↓ 453Nakia#337 → #790
  4. ↓ 395Charlton#938 → #1,333
  5. ↓ 376Benjiman#970 → #1,346

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1976 →