Name Rarity Checker / How rare is Michael
How Rare Is the Name Michael?
Michael is one of the most recorded names in the country. It ranks 4th of all time in U.S. records, with about 1 in 84 people sharing it, which puts it in the Very Common tier. It was most popular in the 1950s. Here is the full picture, decade by decade, plus a card you can save and share.
- Rarity
- 1 in 84
- Tier
- Very Common
- U.S. rank
- 4th
- Share of people
- 1.2%
- People named
- 4,440,391
- Most popular
- the 1950s
Based on U.S. births recorded by the Social Security Administration, 1880 to 2024. Figures describe recorded names, not people alive today.
About the name Michael
Michael is Hebrew for the question 'who is like God?' It belongs to the archangel Michael, and it held the number one spot for American boys for nearly four decades straight, from the mid-1950s into the late 1990s.
Want to check a different name? Try the Name Rarity Checker. First names are only half the picture: the surname rarity checker runs the same math on last names, using the Census surname file.
Frequently asked questions
- How rare is the name Michael?
- Michael is in the Very Common tier. About 1 in 84 people share it, which is 1.2% of all recorded U.S. names, and it ranks 4th of all time. In total 4,440,391 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
- Is Michael a rare name?
- No. Michael is a well-known name rather than a rare one. It is in the Very Common tier, ranked 4th of all time, with about 1 in 84 people sharing it.
- How common is the name Michael?
- About 1 in 84 people in U.S. records share the name Michael, which is 1.2% of all recorded names and 4th of all time. That places it in the Very Common tier.
- Is Michael a boy or girl name?
- In the records, Michael is given almost entirely to boys. Of 4,440,391 people with the name, 21,865 were girls and 4,418,526 were boys.
- When was the name Michael most popular?
- Michael peaked in the 1950s. The bars on the card show its popularity for every decade from 1880 to 2024.