NameTides

Michael

Michael was the #21 boys' name in the US in 2025 (8,094 babies), and #85 in England & Wales and #54 in Canada.

Michael as a boy’s name

  • US
  • England & Wales
  • Scotland
  • Northern Ireland
  • Ireland
  • Canada
  • NSW
  • VIC
Michael as a boy’s name, US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada, NSW, VICBabies per 1,000 in the published list, 1880–2025, for US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada. Gaps mark years with too few babies to be published.025507510018801900192019401960198020002020IrelandNorthern IrelandUSScotlandCanadaEngland & Wales
Michael as a boy’s name, US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada, NSW, VICBabies per 1,000 in the published list, 1880–2025, for US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada. Gaps mark years with too few babies to be published.02550751001880192019602000
Babies per 1,000 of the same sex in each published list. New South Wales and Victoria publish their top 100 only, so they appear in the rank view and only in years the name made the top 100. Breaks in a line are years with too few babies to be published.
Show the numbers
YearUSEngland & WalesScotlandNorthern IrelandIrelandCanadaNSWVIC
2025#21 (8,094)#85 (615)#65 (71)#38 (50)#22 (188)#54 (459)#62 (128)—
2024#18 (8,229)#85 (626)#66 (77)#66 (39)#17 (218)#55 (454)#89 (96)—
2023#16 (8,430)#88 (593)#78 (66)#49 (47)#15 (239)#44 (497)#82 (98)#90 (75)
2022#16 (8,895)#88 (642)#77 (70)#35 (60)#12 (278)#53 (480)#62 (126)—
2021#17 (9,150)#77 (749)#62 (85)#55 (52)#11 (310)#59 (498)#53 (162)—
2020#12 (9,833)#74 (751)#65 (80)#37 (64)#17 (275)#40 (601)#61 (147)#73 (95)
2019#14 (10,619)#70 (835)#73 (87)#28 (75)#14 (302)#45 (605)#53 (165)#56 (126)
2018#14 (11,756)#74 (869)#68 (97)#29 (77)#8 (354)#37 (689)#62 (147)#68 (92)
2017#12 (12,726)#68 (934)#66 (98)#19 (98)#10 (359)#37 (725)#57 (161)#65 (101)
2016#8 (14,145)#59 (1,056)#59 (114)#34 (75)#9 (394)#37 (755)#63 (159)#57 (109)
2015#9 (14,504)#54 (1,165)#50 (131)#16 (117)#8 (434)#31 (830)#44 (196)#50 (117)
2014#7 (15,505)#52 (1,139)#53 (127)#20 (111)#14 (379)#28 (896)#47 (200)#56 (114)
2013#7 (15,544)#53 (1,200)#43 (169)#22 (99)#8 (432)#32 (870)#42 (205)#57 (121)
2012#7 (16,211)#53 (1,302)#47 (151)#21 (110)#10 (462)#27 (959)#38 (228)#52 (131)
2011#6 (16,823)#53 (1,364)#42 (176)#20 (112)#9 (496)#27 (953)#35 (250)#46 (132)

The tide so far

  • Peaked in the US in 1969 at #1.
  • Holding steady over the last five years.
  • In the US records since the data begins in 1880.

How common is it?

about 1 in 210 baby boys in the published US list for 2025.

In a group of 1,000 children born that year, you would expect to meet about 5. How we work this out.

How common, country by country

WhereSexLatest yearShareVerdict
USBoys2025about 1 in 210common
England & WalesBoys2025about 1 in 440common
ScotlandBoys2025about 1 in 280common
Northern IrelandBoys2025about 1 in 170very common
IrelandBoys2025about 1 in 130very common
CanadaBoys2025about 1 in 350common

Next year

On its recent trend, Michael is likely to hold steady in the US in 2026: about 1 in 220 baby boys. Likely range 1 in 220 to 1 in 220.

Estimate, not an official figure. How we estimate.

Across the US

Michael by state, 2025Alaska: #15AKMaine: #38MEWisconsin: #51WIVermont: #80VTNew Hampshire: #40NHWashington: #38WAIdaho: #34IDMontana: #49MTNorth Dakota: #53NDMinnesota: #59MNIllinois: #15ILMichigan: #19MINew York: #13NYMassachusetts: #21MAOregon: #48ORNevada: #15NVWyoming: #16WYSouth Dakota: #37SDIowa: #42IAIndiana: #49INOhio: #17OHPennsylvania: #10PANew Jersey: #7NJConnecticut: #14CTRhode Island: #16RICalifornia: #26CAUtah: #64UTColorado: #44CONebraska: #32NEMissouri: #25MOKentucky: #29KYWest Virginia: #65WVVirginia: #20VAMaryland: #12MDDelaware: #20DEArizona: #26AZNew Mexico: #17NMKansas: #27KSArkansas: #33ARTennessee: #28TNNorth Carolina: #23NCSouth Carolina: #17SCDistrict of Columbia: #43DCOklahoma: #40OKLouisiana: #22LAMississippi: #13MSAlabama: #24ALGeorgia: #33GAHawaii: #34HITexas: #33TXFlorida: #20FL
Michael (boys) rank in each state, 2025. Hatched states recorded fewer than 5 babies.
  • #1–10
  • #11–50
  • #51–100
  • #101–500
  • below #500

Across Canada

ProvinceYearRankBabies
Ontario2024#50206
Quebec2025#9972

Michael (boys): rank in each province’s latest list. Only Quebec and Ontario publish full name lists; Ontario’s latest list is a year behind.

Spellings

Official statistics count each spelling separately, so we show them side by side rather than adding them up.

SpellingWhereSexLatest rankBabies
MichaelCanadaGirls—too few
MichaelCanadaBoys#54459
MichaelEngland & WalesBoys#85615
MichaelIrelandBoys#22188
MichaelNorthern IrelandBoys#3850
MichaelNSWBoys#62128
MichaelScotlandBoys#6571
MichaelUSGirls#7,88513
MichaelUSBoys#218,094
MichaelVICBoys—too few