Michelle Forbes
There are approximately 82 people named Michelle Forbes living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 4,179,931 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Michelle with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Forbes. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
82
1 in 4,179,931
Named Michelle
730K
Alive today
Named Forbes
38K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 730K
Rarity: Very Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1969
Average age: 48
Top Census group: White (68.4%)
Estimated bearers: 38K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #1,032
Per 100K: 11.18
Top ancestry: White (66.5%)
First name trend
Michelle: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Michelle. The peak year was 1969 with 34,457 births. The average person named Michelle today is 48 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Michelle
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Michelle, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 68.4%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Michelle described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Michelle at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White68.4% · 517,730
- Hispanic or Latino13.7% · 103,907
- Black or African American9.0% · 68,176
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.8% · 36,305
- Two or more races3.4% · 26,067
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 4,917
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Forbes surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Forbes, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 66.5%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Forbes described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Forbes at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White66.5% · 22,211
- Black or African American23.0% · 7,685
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 1,588
- Two or more races4.2% · 1,419
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 358
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 163
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Michelle has a living-bearer frequency of 0.2130% of the US population, based on 730,105 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Michelle right now.
The surname Forbes appears at a rate of 11.18 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0112%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 82 people with the full name Michelle Forbes. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Michelle
Related
Other people with the surname Forbes
FAQ
Michelle Forbes: questions and answers
How many people are named Michelle Forbes?
We estimate approximately 82 people in the United States share the full name Michelle Forbes. That works out to about 1 in 4,179,931 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.2130%) with the surname frequency (11.18 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Michelle Forbes?
We classify Michelle Forbes as "Very Rare". About 1 in 4,179,931 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Michelle a male or female name?
Michelle is predominantly female. Out of 819,099 total SSA registrations, 0.4% were male and 99.6% were female. See the full Michelle profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How common is the name Michelle Forbes?
If you just want to know how many people are called Michelle Forbes, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.