Michale
A masculine Hebrew name meaning "who is like God".
Name Census estimates that about 3,166 living Americans carry the first name Michale. It is a predominantly male name (90.5% of registrations). The average person named Michale today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Michale births was 1973 (96 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Michale. 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.
People living today
3.2K
~ 1 in 108,261 Americans
Peak year
1973
96 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,715
Tracked since 1922
Census
Michale in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,418 people with the first name Michale, which placed it at #5,129 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
#5,129
National first-name rank
People counted
3.4K
3,418 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Michale
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Michale is White at 68.1%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Hispanic (9.1%). 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 Michale 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 Michale at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.1% · 2,329
- Black or African American15.5% · 530
- Hispanic or Latino9.1% · 310
- Two or more races4.0% · 137
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 75
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 37
Gender
Gender distribution for Michale
Michale leans heavily male at 90.5% of total registrations, but 344 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Michale as a male name
- Ranked #8,715 in 2024
- 9 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1956 (85 births)
Michale as a female name
- Ranked #18,932 in 2010
- 5 female births in 2010
- Peak: 1978 (14 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Michale leans strongly male. 3,032 people counted with this name were male (88.9%), compared with 378 female bearers (11.1%).
Popularity
Michale: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Michale from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 819 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Michale 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 Michale during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Michales live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Michale, while Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 56 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Michale
The name Michale has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew name Mikhael, which means "who is like God" or "one who is like God." The name is believed to have been inspired by the archangel Michael, a prominent figure in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions.
One of the earliest known references to the name Michale can be found in the Book of Daniel in the Hebrew Bible, where the archangel Michael is depicted as a protector and defender of the Jewish people. The name gained further significance in the Christian tradition, with Michael being revered as the leader of the heavenly armies and a symbol of strength and courage.
In the early centuries of Christianity, the name Michale began to spread throughout Europe, with variations such as Michael, Michal, and Miguel emerging in different regions. Some notable historical figures bearing this name include:
1. Michael the Archangel, the leader of the heavenly armies in Christian and Islamic traditions (circa 1st century).
2. Michael I Rangabe, a Byzantine Emperor who reigned from 811 to 813 CE.
3. Michael Scot, a renowned medieval Scottish philosopher and scholar (c. 1175 - c. 1232).
4. Michael Faraday, an English scientist who contributed significantly to the study of electromagnetism (1791 - 1867).
5. Michael Collins, an Irish revolutionary leader and politician who played a prominent role in the Irish struggle for independence (1890 - 1922).
The name Michale has also been associated with several saints and religious figures throughout history, further solidifying its spiritual significance. For example, Saint Michael the Archangel is revered as the patron saint of soldiers, police officers, and those involved in dangerous professions.
While the name Michale has evolved over time and across different cultures, its Hebrew roots and connection to the archangel Michael have remained a consistent thread throughout its history. The name continues to be widely used across various religions and cultures, carrying with it a sense of strength, protection, and divine association.
People
Michale + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Michale 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
Michale: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Michale?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,166 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Michale 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 108,261 US residents.
Is Michale a common name?
We classify Michale as "Rare". It ranks above 95.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,618 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Michale most popular?
The single biggest year for Michale was 1973, when 96 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Michale is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Michale in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,418 people with the name Michale, or 1.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,129 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 Michale 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 Michale?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Michale leans strongly male. 3,032 people counted with this name were male (88.9%), compared with 378 female bearers (11.1%). 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 Michale?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Michale is White at 68.1%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Hispanic (9.1%). 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 Michale most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Michale in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.1% (2,329 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 Michale in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Michale a male name?
Yes, 90.5% of people registered as Michale in the SSA data are male. 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 Michale still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Michale 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 Michale 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 common is the name Michale?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Michale on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.