Name Awesome

Michal

#4,319 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Michal has been given to 7,813 babies in the U.S. since 1938. In 2025 it ranked #4,319 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 1985, with 90 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 52% girls, 48% boys all-time.

Babies named Michal, 2025

1 in 100,000

Michal over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
025507510018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Michal over time

In 2025, Michal went to 69% girls and 31% boys.

19112025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Michal: meaning, origin, and history

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Hebrew

What Michal means

Michal has more than one naming route in the cited origin entries: “who is like god?”.

The naming story behind Michal

A separate documented entry treats Michal as a form of Michael. That is a personal-name relationship, which differs from translating the letters of the modern spelling into one universal English word. The linked origin entry identifies the context of this relationship.

One of the source’s documented entries for Michal records a proposed meaning of brook.

Origin, language, and formation

Michal is used in English, Czech, Old Czech and Slovak. Its origins include Hebrew.

Michal comes through Hebrew מִיכַל.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Michael.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Michal is pronounced /miˈxɑl/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 4,031 girls were recorded with the name Michal between 1938 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 90 in 1985; its best national rank was #856 in 1942.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #3,887 in 2020 to #4,319 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #3,958 in 2015 to #4,319 in 2025.

In the United States, 3,782 boys were recorded with the name Michal between 1911 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 71 in 1961; its best national rank was #902 in 1956.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #5,390 in 2020 to #6,046 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #4,999 in 2015 to #6,046 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Michal?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 100,000
33 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 48,700
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#4,319
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
69,634 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Michal sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 69,634 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Michal. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Michals were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Michal was born before 1987 — so the typical Michal is around 38 today.

Median birth year
1987
About 38 years old
Biggest decade
1980s
17.0% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
27.7%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
3,642
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1980s — 17.0% of all recorded uses (685).

Is Michal rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−761
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−432
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−361
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.87×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
36.7%
Peak was 1985 (90)
Years since peak
40
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
16.9% average annual change
Best rank ever
#856
1942

Spellings of Michal

Michal is not the most common spelling — Michele is, with 62.5% against Michal's 1.1%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Michal is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Michal was most concentrated in New York — about 1 in 16,667 girls, against 1 in 65,695 across all states with data. It was least common in Utah (1 in —).

06 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1New York1 in 16,667
  2. 2New Jersey1 in 25,000
  3. 3California1 in 50,000
  4. 4Maryland1 in 100,000
  5. 5Texas1 in 100,000
  6. 6Colorado1 in —
  7. 7Florida1 in —
  8. 8Iowa1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Michal has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Where Michal is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Michal was most concentrated in Illinois — about 1 in 16,667 boys, against 1 in 80,866 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

06 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Illinois1 in 16,667
  2. 2New York1 in 50,000
  3. 3California1 in 100,000
  4. 4Connecticut1 in 100,000
  5. 5New Jersey1 in 100,000
  6. 6Alabama1 in —
  7. 7Florida1 in —
  8. 8Georgia1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Michal has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Michal around the world

Where Michal ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #4,201
    in 2025
  • France
    2013–2013
    #6,936
    in 2013
  • Canada
    1992–2024
    #3,027
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1963–1989
    #692
    in 1989

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Michal

People whose public names include Michal, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Michal in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Michal. Linked forms have their own page here.

MihaiMikkoMichelMiguelMihaelMikaelMikailMiquelMychalMichaelMichailMichielMikhailMykolasMykhailoMichałMihkelMihály

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Michal by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#4,319
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 432
Best rank ever
#856
1942
Peak year
1985
90 that year
First recorded
1938
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
4,031
Count in 2025
33

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#6,046
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 656
Best rank ever
#902
1956
Peak year
1961
71 that year
First recorded
1911
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
3,782
Count in 2025
15

Names similar to Michal

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

MickieMichelMickeyMichellMichelaMicaiahMicaMichaMicahMicaelaMichikoMickaylaMickiMicaylaMichaelMichealaMichealMichellaMichaellaMichelinaMichalaMicoleMichonMichaele

Names with a curve like Michal

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Michal, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

PricillaRonniHolleyDorianNydiaStarrMariluRachellJacquelynnTamarJeanelleJulieann

Sibling names for Michal

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Michal

Top names of 1985, Michal's peak yearThe 1980s in fullOther names that peaked in 1942Girls' names starting with MCzech Boy NamesHebrew Girl NamesMichael Variations & NicknamesSlovak Boy NamesUncommon Polish Boy Names