How Many People Are Named Michelle?

An estimated 730,105 people in the United States have the first name Michelle, ranking it #45 among all first names. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 48 years old, and Michelle peaked in popularity in 1969 with 34,457 births that year. It has a similar number of bearers to Amanda (727,877).

Below you will find a full statistical profile of Michelle as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Michelle paired with any surname.

Key Insights

  • While Michelle is overwhelmingly female, 3,250 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
  • Michelle has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1970s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.

Estimated Living Americans

730,105

About 1 in 469 people in the U.S.

Rarity

Very Common

Very Rare Very Common

Predicted Gender

Female

99.6% confidence

Average Age

48

years old

Peak Year

1969

34,457 births

Total Registered

819,099

since 1880

Gender Distribution for Michelle

Michelle is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 819,099 total births registered, 99.6% were female.

Male 3,250 (0.4%)
Female 815,849 (99.6%)

Michelle as a male name

Ranked #7,894 in 2011

10 male births in 2011

Peak: 1971 (150 births)

Michelle as a female name

Ranked #409 in 2024

772 female births in 2024

Peak: 1969 (34,319 births)

Michelle: Popularity Over Time

SSA records for Michelle span from the 1910s to the 2020s, covering 12 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1970s, when 250,208 babies were registered. Michelle has declined significantly from its peak in the 1970s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.

Male
Female
0 7K 14K 21K 28K 34K 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Michelle by Decade

How has Michelle tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.

Decade Total Male Female
1910s 17 0 17
1920s 97 0 97
1930s 293 0 293
1940s 5,714 21 5,693
1950s 46,896 117 46,779
1960s 209,012 716 208,296
1970s 250,208 1,072 249,136
1980s 154,844 812 154,032
1990s 86,884 355 86,529
2000s 43,676 138 43,538
2010s 17,373 19 17,354
2020s 4,085 0 4,085

Michelle by State

Birth registrations for Michelle span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, New York, Texas. The lowest are in Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska. On average, about 15,999 Michelles were registered per state.

California 114,946
New York 69,766
Texas 49,245
Illinois 47,761
Ohio 44,277
Pennsylvania 40,174
Michigan 39,744
Florida 29,800
New Jersey 25,263
Massachusetts 25,009
Indiana 20,746
Wisconsin 18,765
Missouri 17,783
Minnesota 17,403
Virginia 15,493
Washington 15,338
Maryland 13,227
Louisiana 12,687
Georgia 12,143
Colorado 11,974
Arizona 11,582
Iowa 11,549
Connecticut 10,310
Kansas 9,081
Oregon 8,935
Kentucky 8,409
Tennessee 8,400
Utah 7,793
Oklahoma 7,574
Nebraska 6,943
Alabama 5,840
New Mexico 5,387
Maine 4,234
Arkansas 4,105
Rhode Island 3,900
Hawaii 3,633
Mississippi 3,478
Nevada 3,346
Idaho 3,237
North Dakota 2,917
South Dakota 2,765
Montana 2,599
Delaware 2,133
Alaska 1,829
Vermont 1,587
Wyoming 1,448

Michelle + Last Name Combinations

How many people share a full name with Michelle as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.

Michelle: Questions and Answers

How many people in the U.S. are named Michelle?

We estimate approximately 730,105 people named Michelle are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 469 Americans share this first name.

Is Michelle a common name?

Michelle is classified as "Very Common" and is more popular than 100% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 819,099 births have been registered with this name since 1880.

When was Michelle most popular?

Michelle reached peak popularity in 1969, when 34,457 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Michelle is approximately 48 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.

Is Michelle a female name?

Michelle is predominantly female. 99.6% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.

How many Michelle Smiths are there?

To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Michelle Smith, Michelle Johnson, Michelle Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.

Where does this data come from?

Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.

How Many of Me
howmanyofme.org

There are 730K people with the name

Michelle

in the United States

How many have your name?

Share this result

Search for a full name combination