Michala
A feminine diminutive form of Michael, meaning "who is like God?"
Name Census estimates that about 1,498 living Americans carry the first name Michala. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Michala today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Michala births was 1994 (144 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Michala. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Michala with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 228,808 Americans
Peak year
1994
144 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2015 SSA rank
#15,775
Tracked since 1970
Census
Michala in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,498 people with the first name Michala, which placed it at #9,316 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
#9,316
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,498 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Michala
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Michala is White at 69.7%. The next largest groups are Black (17.1%) and Hispanic (6.1%). 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 Michala 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 Michala at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.7% · 1,044
- Black or African American17.1% · 256
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 91
- Two or more races5.0% · 75
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 15
Popularity
Michala: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Michala from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 876 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Michala 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 Michala during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Michalas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 21 states and territories. Texas, Ohio, California recorded the most babies named Michala, while Washington, Minnesota, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 22 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Michala
The name Michala has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, emerging during the ancient times of the Middle East. It is a feminine form derived from the Hebrew name Michael, which means "who is like God" or "gift from God." The name carries a deep religious and spiritual significance within the Judeo-Christian tradition.
Michala's roots can be traced back to the Biblical figure of the Archangel Michael, who is revered as a protector and a warrior against evil in various religious texts. The name is mentioned in the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation, where Michael is portrayed as a powerful celestial being leading the armies of heaven against the forces of darkness.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Michala dates back to the 12th century, when it appeared in medieval German texts as Michaela. Over the centuries, the name evolved and gained popularity across various European cultures, with variations such as Michaela, Micaela, and Michela emerging in different regions.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Michala. One such figure was Michala of Valois (1324-1404), a French princess who became the Duchess of Bourbon through her marriage to Louis II, Duke of Bourbon. Another prominent bearer of the name was Michala de la Pole (1470-1515), an English noblewoman and the daughter of John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk.
In the realm of arts and culture, Michala Petri (born 1958) is a renowned Danish recorder player and conductor, widely acclaimed for her contributions to the revival of the recorder as a serious concert instrument. Michala Banas (born 1974) is a Polish actress and singer who has gained recognition for her roles in various films and television series.
The name Michala has also been carried by several notable athletes, such as Michala Čiková (born 1983), a Slovak tennis player who has won multiple titles on the ITF Women's Circuit, and Michala Kvapilová (born 1992), a Czech professional golfer who has competed on the Ladies European Tour.
While the name Michala has maintained a strong presence throughout history, its popularity has ebbed and flowed across different regions and time periods. Nonetheless, it remains a name steeped in rich cultural heritage, embodying themes of strength, protection, and divine grace.
People
Michala + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Michala 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
Michala: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Michala?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,498 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Michala 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 228,808 US residents.
Is Michala a common name?
We classify Michala as "Rare". It ranks above 92.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,545 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Michala most popular?
The single biggest year for Michala was 1994, when 144 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Michala is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Michala in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,498 people with the name Michala, or 0.50 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,316 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 Michala 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 Michala?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Michala appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,500 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Michala?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Michala is White at 69.7%. The next largest groups are Black (17.1%) and Hispanic (6.1%). 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 Michala most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Michala in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.7% (1,044 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 Michala in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Michala a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Michala 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 Michala still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Michala 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 Michala 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 called Michala?
Find out how many people have the name Michala on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.