Michael

What Michael means

Means “who is like God?”

From Middle English Michael, from Old French Michel, Old English Michahel, from their source Latin Michaēl, Michāhēl, from Ancient Greek Μῐχᾱήλ (Mĭkhāḗl), from Biblical Hebrew מִיכָאֵל (mîḵāʾēl, literally “who is like God?”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Michael” (revision 94541667), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Michael?

US: Falling: down from #9 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #54 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1969, when 85,162 boys got the name (#1 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 211 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 442 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 277 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in WY (12.84 per 1,000 boys), AK (10.56 per 1,000 boys), RI (9.92 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Michael is #21 in the US and #85 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.8% of US babies named Michael were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Michal15 US · 13 E&W
• Michel22 US
• Mishael16 US · 4 E&W
• Mechel11 US
• Michoel11 US
• Mitchel10 US
• Mychael6 US
• Mychal5 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Spelling variants on Wiktionary

• Michaell
• Mykal

Listed as alternative forms on Wiktionary.

Nicknames

• Mick
• Mickey
• Micky
• Mike
• Mikey

Listed on Wiktionary under “pet forms”.

If you like Michael

Boys

• Timothy#203“to honour + god”^*
• Jeremy#292Form of Jeremiah, meaning “Yahweh exalt”^*
• David#35“beloved”^*
• Matthew#32“gift of the Lord”^*
• Mark#244Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1960, with 58,727 babies; 1,416 in 2025
• Stephen#383“crown, wreath”^*

For a sister

• Elizabeth#17“my God is an oath”^*
• Jessica#665possibly “Iscah in Genesis 11:29, Jescha in the Wycliffe…^*
• Rebecca#349“enchantingly beautiful, captivating, snare”^*
• Jamie#857Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1977, with 12,895 babies; 316 in 2025
• Sarah#90“masters, princes”^*
• Sara#198Variant of Sarah, meaning “masters, princes”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Bible, Hebrew, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Michael’s. Rank is US 2025.