Micelle
A French name referring to a molecular structure with a hydrophilic head and hydrophobic tail.
Name Census estimates that about 27 living Americans carry the first name Micelle. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Micelle today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Micelle births was 1982 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Micelle. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Micelle. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
27
~ 1 in 12,694,605 Americans
Peak year
1982
9 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
1986 SSA rank
#12,128
Tracked since 1967
Census
Micelle in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 227 people with the first name Micelle, which placed it at #35,437 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#35,437
National first-name rank
People counted
227
227 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
61.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Micelle
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Micelle is White at 61.7%. The next largest groups are Black (14.5%) and Hispanic (12.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Micelle described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Micelle at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.7% · 140
- Black or African American14.5% · 33
- Hispanic or Latino12.3% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.6% · 15
- Two or more races3.5% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 3
Popularity
Micelle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Micelle from the 1960s through to the 1980s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 19 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Micelle by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Micelle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Micelle
The name Micelle is believed to have originated from the Ancient Greek language, derived from the word "mikros," which means small or little. This suggests that the name may have been initially used to describe someone or something of diminutive size or stature.
Historically, the name Micelle is not widely documented in ancient texts or religious scriptures. However, there are a few recorded instances of individuals bearing this name throughout history.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Micelle dates back to the late 16th century. Micelle de Lanfranc was a French noblewoman who lived from 1567 to 1631. She was known for her philanthropic efforts and her support of the arts.
In the 18th century, Micelle Dubois (1702-1778) was a French botanist and naturalist. She made significant contributions to the study of plant life and is credited with discovering several new species of plants.
During the 19th century, Micelle Fournier (1819-1892) was a prominent French artist known for her intricate landscape paintings and depictions of rural life.
In the early 20th century, Micelle Chevalier (1903-1984) was a Swiss architect who designed several notable buildings in Geneva and Zurich. Her work was heavily influenced by the modernist movement and incorporated elements of functionality and simplicity.
Another notable figure was Micelle Durand (1920-2005), a French author and poet. Her works often explored themes of love, loss, and the human condition. She received numerous literary awards and accolades throughout her career.
While the name Micelle may not be as widely used or recognized as other names, it has a rich history and has been borne by individuals who have made significant contributions to various fields throughout the centuries.
People
Micelle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Micelle as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Micelle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Micelle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 27 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Micelle going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 12,694,605 US residents.
Is Micelle a common name?
We classify Micelle as "Very Rare". It ranks above 44.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 29 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Micelle most popular?
The single biggest year for Micelle was 1982, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Micelle is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Micelle in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 227 people with the name Micelle, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,437 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Micelle in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Micelle?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Micelle appears almost entirely female. Of the 220 people counted with this name, 99.1% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Micelle?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Micelle is White at 61.7%. The next largest groups are Black (14.5%) and Hispanic (12.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Micelle most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Micelle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.7% (140 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Micelle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Micelle a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Micelle in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Micelle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Micelle in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Micelle can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Micelle?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Micelle at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.