Total births
816,510
Girls' name · since 1915
Michelle
816,510 babies named Michelle in U.S. Social Security records since 1915, with the highest year being 1969. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #409
- among girls today
- 816,510
- born since 1915
- 1970s
- peak decade
- 98%
- more common than other girls
Michelle currently ranks #409 among girls' names in America, with 816,510 babies recorded since 1915.
Michelle has 816,510 recorded births among girls since 1915, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #409 as of the latest data, more common than 98% of girls, busiest in the 1970s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1915 to 2025.
- #409 among girls today
- 816,510 born since 1915
- 1970s peak decade
- 98% more common than other girls
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
Michelle is currently the #409 girls' name in America, more common than 98% of girls - 816,510 born since 1915, peaking in the 1970s.
- #409
- among girls today
- 816,510
- born since 1915
- 1970s
- peak decade
- 98%
- more common than other girls
Michelle vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
#409
of 17,726 girls in use
More common than 98% of names given to girls today.
1970s
Peak decade
31% of everyone ever named Michelle was born in this single decade.
1969
Single peak year
34,319 babies were named Michelle in 1969 - its busiest year on record.
How Michelle compares
816,510 Top 0% higher than 100% of 17,726 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Michelle's all-time total is 2,137x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Michelle | Median girls name (Emerly) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 816,510 | 382 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 34,319 | 48 | 19,840 |
Michelle's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Michelle's full recorded timeline at 1972, 60% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 40% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1915, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1969 peak of 34,319 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Michelle at a glance
Top 1,000 girls' namePeak year
1969
Current rank
#409
Active since
1915
Michelle popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1915–2025
- Peak year (1969)
- 34,319
- Annual births at peak, across 111 years of records
Michelle popularity over time - boys
3,250 total births recorded since 1946 (Michelle as boys' name)
Michelle by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
1970s was Michelle's strongest decade.
249,130 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 31% of all-time use.
Michelle births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1910s 17
1910s
17 births
- 1920s 97
1920s
97 births
- 1930s 293
1930s
293 births
- 1940s 5,693
1940s
5,693 births
- 1950s 46,779
1950s
46,779 births
- 1960s
1960s
208,293 births
- 1970s
1970s
249,130 births
- 1980s
1980s
154,027 births
- 1990s 86,532
1990s
86,532 births
- 2000s 43,540
2000s
43,540 births
- 2010s 17,358
2010s
17,358 births
- 2020s 4,751
2020s
4,751 births
What this shows Peak: 1970s at 249,130 births (31% of all-time use).
How Michelle compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Michelle's total volume
Michelle vs 15 similarly-sized girls names
Michelle by state
Where Michelle concentrates geographically, total births since 1915
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 114,585 | 14.0% |
| #2 | New York | | 69,560 | 8.5% |
| #3 | Texas | | 49,169 | 6.0% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 47,679 | 5.8% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 44,182 | 5.4% |
| #6 | Pennsylvania | | 40,105 | 4.9% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 39,696 | 4.9% |
| #8 | Florida | | 29,800 | 3.6% |
California share of Michelle's total US births 14.0%
Even split
114,585 of 816,510 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Michelle appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Michelle? ▼
Michelle has been given to 816,510 babies in the U.S. since 1915, according to SSA data. Among girls, it ranks #409 as of the latest data. 34,319 babies were born in 1969, its single highest year.
When was Michelle most popular? ▼
Michelle was most popular in the 1970s decade with 249,130 total births. The single peak year was 1969.
Where is Michelle most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Michelle are California (114,585 births), New York (69,560 births), Texas (49,169 births).
How long has the name Michelle been used? ▼
Michelle has been recorded in Social Security data since 1915, spanning 111 years of data through 2025.
What names are similar to Michelle? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Michele, Michaela, Michael, Micaela, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.
What to do with Michelle's data
- Michelle's decade-level peak was the 1970s (249,130 total births); usage has since declined to 4,751 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Michelles (114,585 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Michelle
Nearby Names Like Michelle
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Michelle
Michele Girl
#4124 223,299 births
Michaela Girl
#742 53,633 births
Michael Girl
#6941 21,880 births
Micaela Girl
#1118 14,977 births
Micah Girl
#840 14,035 births
Compare Michelle side by side: Michelle vs Michele Michelle vs Michaela Michelle vs Michael
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Michelle
Aubree #408
49,558 births · Peak 2013
Matilda #410
37,270 births · Peak 2025
Ivory #407
14,546 births · Peak 2025
Lilliana #411
22,826 births · Peak 2013
Anaya #406
17,997 births · Peak 2025
Mallory #412
59,044 births · Peak 1986
Fiona #405
33,959 births · Peak 2017
Mariah #413
115,096 births · Peak 1996
Data Sources
Data as of June 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1915–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Michelle: #409 Girls' Name - 816,510 Births, Peak 1969." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/michelle. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Michelle draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.