# Michel (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/michel/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys and girls |
| Origin | French |
| Meaning | “who is like god?” |
| Pronunciation | /mɪˈʃɛl/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Mish |
| US babies named this | 14,094 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 10,539 / 3,555 (25% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 83, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Either a reborrowing of French Michel or a continuation (with pronunciation influenced by Modern French) of Middle English Michel, both from Old French Michel, from Latin Michāēl, borrowed from Koine Greek Μῐχᾱήλ (Mĭkhāḗl), from Biblical Hebrew מִיכָאֵל (mîḵāʾēl, literally “who is like God?”). Doublet of Michael, Miguel, and Mikhail.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 29 | 4,930 |
| 2011 | 19 | 6,770 |
| 2012 | 18 | 7,066 |
| 2014 | 11 | 9,952 |
| 2015 | 13 | 8,781 |
| 2016 | 6 | 15,602 |
| 2017 | 9 | 11,319 |
| 2018 | 6 | 15,048 |
| 2019 | 5 | 17,215 |
| 2020 | 7 | 13,038 |
| 2021 | 7 | 13,061 |
| 2022 | 7 | 13,136 |
| 2023 | 11 | 9,409 |
| 2024 | 15 | 7,479 |
| 2025 | 9 | 10,637 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 48 | 2,576 |
| 2012 | 34 | 3,282 |
| 2013 | 36 | 3,103 |
| 2014 | 26 | 3,979 |
| 2015 | 41 | 2,897 |
| 2016 | 20 | 4,884 |
| 2017 | 30 | 3,641 |
| 2018 | 27 | 3,956 |
| 2019 | 26 | 4,071 |
| 2020 | 26 | 3,991 |
| 2021 | 25 | 4,190 |
| 2022 | 23 | 4,532 |
| 2023 | 27 | 4,082 |
| 2024 | 31 | 3,662 |
| 2025 | 22 | 4,642 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 3 | 4,373 |
| 2004 | 3 | 4,598 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 4 | 2,587 |
| 2002 | 3 | 3,225 |
| 2003 | 4 | 2,857 |
| 2004 | 5 | 2,578 |
| 2005 | 5 | 2,754 |
| 2006 | 3 | 4,052 |
| 2007 | 9 | 2,023 |
| 2008 | 4 | 3,687 |
| 2010 | 4 | 3,865 |
| 2012 | 3 | 4,805 |
| 2013 | 3 | 4,685 |
| 2014 | 4 | 3,895 |
| 2017 | 4 | 3,996 |
| 2019 | 3 | 4,702 |
| 2024 | 4 | 4,270 |

## People named Michel

- Michel de Montaigne, French author, philosopher, and statesman (1533–1592)
- Michel Foucault, French philosopher (1926–1984)
- Michel Platini, French football player, manager and executive (born 1955)
- Michel Temer, 24th Vice-President of Brazil from 2011 to 2016 and 37th President of Brazil from 2016 to 
- Michel Houellebecq, French writer
- Michel Aoun, 13th President of Lebanon from 2016 to 2022
- Michel Sogny, French pianist
- Michel Barnier, former Prime Minister of France (2024)
- Michel Hazanavicius, French film director, producer and screenwriter
- Michel Ney, French general (1769–1815)
- Michel Piccoli, French actor (1925–2020)
- Michel Legrand, French film score composer (1932–2019)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.