Michael Name Popularity

Charts | Table | About | By Year

How popular is Michael?

In 2018 the very popular name Michael, ranked the 14th Most Popular Boys Name in the United States.

Presently one of the top 50 most popular, Michael has been a top 100 placer since the Social Security Administration began keeping records in 1880.

It reached its highest popularity ranking of #1 for the first time in 1954 and as recently as 1998.

The name was bestowed upon the greatest number of babies in 1957 with 92,704 occurrences.

In any year, the least number of babies named Michael was 298 in 1881.

Decidely upward trends in the number of babies given the name Michael occurred roughly during the years 1885-1888, 1909-1915, and 1931-1954, whereas unequivocal downward movement occurred about 1968-1973, and 1988-2017.

Michael's popularity has been spiralling downward for some time. Of late, continuing the trend, the number of parents selecting the name Michael for their newborn has dropped.

What does the future hold for the popularity of Michael?

Overall, when compared to its most prominent year, the name's popularity is at a very low point.

The name Michael is a huge favorite but will probably continue to drift downward in popularity.

*Mouse over the charts or scroll down to the table for data details.

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for Percentages.

		Michael (Girl)		Michael (Boy)
Year	%	No. of Babies Given Name	Popul. Rank	No. of Babies Given Name	Popul. Rank
2018		20	6,141	11,620	14
2017		34	4,275	12,639	12
2016		34	4,306	14,088	8
2015		36	4,112	14,431	9
2014		35	4,230	15,454	7
2013		39	3,887	15,497	7
2012		27	5,194	16,169	7
2011		36	4,121	16,795	6
2010		37	4,081	17,350	3
2009		45	3,596	18,940	3
2008		55	3,109	20,626	2
2007		51	3,313	21,992	2
2006		64	2,769	22,637	2
2005		61	2,746	23,815	2
2004		148	1,409	25,458	2
2003		94	1,942	27,121	2
2002		95	1,883	28,245	2
2001		96	1,846	29,683	2
2000		114	1,568	32,037	2
1999		123	1,428	33,912	2
1998		128	1,360	36,615	1
1997		142	1,257	37,549	1
1996		157	1,161	38,364	1
1995		167	1,072	41,402	1
1994		192	971	44,469	1
1993		223	871	49,549	1
1992		258	789	54,392	1
1991		267	772	60,785	1
1990		278	747	65,290	1
1989		363	595	65,389	1
1988		480	473	64,143	1
1987		544	410	63,655	1
1986		590	392	64,208	1
1985		531	419	64,912	1
1984		508	420	67,741	1
1983		577	385	68,000	1
1982		576	403	68,235	1
1981		487	440	68,763	1
1980		546	409	68,696	1
1979		553	396	67,739	1
1978		545	384	67,158	1
1977		560	378	67,616	1
1976		515	398	66,954	1
1975		557	373	68,454	1
1974		526	392	67,578	1
1973		451	431	67,847	1
1972		452	430	71,405	1
1971		459	449	77,594	1
1970		457	461	85,302	1
1969		457	449	85,203	1
1968		473	439	82,008	1
1967		373	496	82,436	1
1966		346	510	79,990	1
1965		355	504	81,021	1
1964		302	566	82,646	1
1963		377	501	83,782	1
1962		354	521	85,034	1
1961		325	546	86,917	1
1960		318	545	84,180	2
1959		285	587	85,251	1
1958		295	575	90,517	1
1957		255	612	92,704	1
1956		240	619	90,656	1
1955		251	578	88,327	1
1954		216	619	88,528	1
1953		233	581	84,226	3
1952		190	646	79,049	4
1951		172	669	72,797	4
1950		179	642	65,144	4
1949		188	602	60,046	5
1948		170	637	52,564	6
1947		173	635	50,501	7
1946		169	611	41,181	7
1945		158	583	29,899	9
1944		168	563	26,720	9
1943		187	553	24,743	10
1942		157	593	21,726	13
1941		97	717	15,931	16
1940		80	793	13,228	18
1939		81	764	10,824	18
1938		58	941	9,080	21
1937		47	1,041	7,095	27
1936		40	1,128	5,801	33
1935		32	1,296	4,907	41
1934		20	1,751	4,106	47
1933		26	1,461	3,545	53
1932		20	1,796	3,610	54
1931		24	1,582	3,489	55
1930		36	1,267	3,545	54
1929		33	1,326	3,465	54
1928		33	1,360	3,597	53
1927		29	1,546	3,607	52
1926		32	1,435	3,486	56
1925		34	1,399	3,760	55
1924		36	1,377	3,873	54
1923		29	1,548	3,914	50
1922		31	1,495	3,991	48
1921		24	1,806	4,198	47
1920		22	1,868	4,003	50
1919		24	1,683	3,910	46
1918		30	1,439	4,296	45
1917		12	2,656	4,289	44
1916		18	1,929	4,210	44
1915		14	2,214	4,081	43
1914		16	1,710	3,362	40
1913		12	1,852	2,607	40
1912		8	2,290	2,104	42
1911		7	2,116	1,159	38
1910		9	1,721	844	45
1909		7	1,900	635	47
1908		< 5	--	688	44
1907		< 5	--	586	48
1906		5	2,135	531	46
1905		< 5	--	513	45
1904		< 5	--	462	50
1903		< 5	--	466	47
1902		< 5	--	460	48
1901		< 5	--	384	52
1900		< 5	--	495	51
1899		< 5	--	375	51
1898		< 5	--	434	52
1897		7	1,346	368	57
1896		< 5	--	399	53
1895		< 5	--	413	52
1894		< 5	--	423	51
1893		< 5	--	407	49
1892		< 5	--	380	59
1891		< 5	--	333	55
1890		< 5	--	394	48
1889		< 5	--	377	51
1888		< 5	--	466	46
1887		< 5	--	345	48
1886		< 5	--	348	53
1885		< 5	--	370	47
1884		< 5	--	373	51
1883		< 5	--	307	55
1882		< 5	--	321	57
1881		< 5	--	298	54
1880		< 5	--	354	46

United States name popularity data is provided by the Social Security Administration and is based on Social Security card applications.

Data for a given year is not made available until well into the next year.

Data reflects what was recorded and has not been edited for errors, so for example the gender associated with a name may be incorrect.

The more babies that are given a particular name, the higher the popularity ranking. If multiple names have the same usage, the tie is broken by assigning popularity rank in alphabetical order. Therefore in the case of names with fewer occurrences, names with the same number of occurrences may have vastly different rankings because they will be interranked alphabetically.

To safeguard privacy, the SSA does not include names with less than 5 occurrences.

Please note, we update the data each May when the SSA releases new figures. All data changes at that time, including previous years, which will change minutely based on new information.