# Misha (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/misha/  
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 | Russian |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmɪʃ.ɑː/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 4,858 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 603 / 4,255 (88% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,027, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

A transliteration of the Russian Ми́ша (Míša), a hypocoristic for Михаи́л (Mixaíl), the Russian equivalent of Michael, from Hebrew מיכאל. Also a female name, presumably analogous to Michelle.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 77 | 2,408 |
| 2012 | 98 | 1,994 |
| 2013 | 84 | 2,228 |
| 2014 | 72 | 2,509 |
| 2015 | 77 | 2,398 |
| 2016 | 71 | 2,533 |
| 2017 | 117 | 1,788 |
| 2018 | 98 | 2,007 |
| 2019 | 101 | 1,946 |
| 2020 | 90 | 2,059 |
| 2021 | 85 | 2,205 |
| 2022 | 105 | 1,914 |
| 2023 | 82 | 2,264 |
| 2024 | 83 | 2,258 |
| 2025 | 49 | 3,236 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 6 | 11,799 |
| 2012 | 14 | 6,209 |
| 2013 | 11 | 7,380 |
| 2014 | 9 | 8,574 |
| 2015 | 22 | 4,496 |
| 2016 | 14 | 6,239 |
| 2017 | 20 | 4,877 |
| 2018 | 25 | 4,177 |
| 2019 | 24 | 4,299 |
| 2020 | 27 | 3,887 |
| 2021 | 38 | 3,158 |
| 2022 | 26 | 4,155 |
| 2023 | 22 | 4,689 |
| 2024 | 19 | 5,191 |
| 2025 | 11 | 7,516 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 53 | 721 |
| 2012 | 47 | 812 |
| 2013 | 51 | 766 |
| 2014 | 34 | 1,040 |
| 2015 | 28 | 1,204 |
| 2016 | 30 | 1,142 |
| 2017 | 27 | 1,258 |
| 2018 | 27 | 1,234 |
| 2019 | 30 | 1,119 |
| 2020 | 24 | 1,313 |
| 2021 | 17 | 1,692 |
| 2022 | 23 | 1,383 |
| 2023 | 24 | 1,325 |
| 2024 | 25 | 1,302 |
| 2025 | 24 | 1,315 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 6 | 1,821 |
| 2003 | 5 | 2,470 |
| 2006 | 5 | 2,870 |
| 2007 | 5 | 3,095 |
| 2011 | 5 | 3,300 |
| 2012 | 3 | 4,805 |
| 2013 | 3 | 4,685 |
| 2016 | 5 | 3,478 |
| 2017 | 3 | 4,812 |
| 2019 | 5 | 3,411 |
| 2020 | 3 | 4,608 |
| 2021 | 3 | 4,789 |
| 2022 | 4 | 4,001 |
| 2025 | 5 | 3,684 |

## 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.