Girls' name · peaked in 1969
Michelle name popularity since 1925
819,708 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Michelle. Half of them were born in 1974 or earlier, so the typical Michelle is about 52 years old in 2026. Michelle peaked in 1969 as the #2 name for girls, and it ranked #465 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 819,708
- Named Michelle, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #465
- for girls in 2025 (661 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.6% girls
- 816,458 girls · 3,250 boys
- Most popular in
- Alaska
- 1.49× its national share
Peak year is the year Michelle made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Michelle births per year, 1925–2025
1969 was the biggest year for Michelle both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1941 and 1946, Michelle became 4.4× more common, from 1 in 9,080 baby girls to 1 in 2,080.
- Steepest fall: Between 1992 and 1997, its share of baby girls fell by 48%, from 1 in 160 to 1 in 306.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Michelle's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Michelle.
Decade by decade
Babies named Michelle in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 62 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 293 | 0 | #1,435 |
| 1940s | 5,693 | 21 | #307 |
| 1950s | 46,779 | 117 | #97 |
| 1960s | 208,293 | 716 | #18 |
| 1970s | 249,130 | 1,072 | #6 |
| 1980s | 154,027 | 812 | #22 |
| 1990s | 86,532 | 355 | #41 |
| 2000s | 43,540 | 138 | #74 |
| 2010s | 17,358 | 19 | #192 |
| 2020–25 | 4,751 | 0 | #465 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
50.2% of babies named Michelle from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen X years (1965–1980). The full split by generation:
Where Michelle is most popular
The index compares Michelle's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Michelle.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | 1.49× | 1,829 |
| Hawaii | 1.41× | 3,633 |
| District of Columbia | 1.37× | 5,229 |
| Rhode Island | 1.33× | 3,900 |
| California | 1.32× | 115,051 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Michelle and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Michelle (this page) | 816,458 | 1969 |
| Michele | 223,213 | 1968 |
| Michell | 6,995 | 1973 |
| Michaelle | 1,388 | 1967 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Michelle's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Michelle.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Michelle (1969).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data