Name Awesome

Misha

#3,236 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Teddy bear, through Ми́ша

Misha has been given to 4,858 babies in the U.S. since 1954. In 2025 it ranked #3,236 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 1991, with 135 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 88% girls, 12% boys all-time.

Babies named Misha, 2025

1 in 67,700

Misha over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
05010015018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.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 — Misha over time

In 2025, Misha went to 82% girls and 18% boys.

19542025

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.

Misha: meaning, origin, and history

Teddy bear, through Ми́ша

Russian

What Misha means

Misha belongs to the name family reached through Misha → Ми́ша → Михаи́л. Its meaning is “teddy bear”.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

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.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Misha (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Misha is used in English. Its origins include Russian.

Misha comes through Russian Ми́ша and Hebrew מיכאל.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Ми́ша and Михаи́л.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Misha is pronounced /ˈmɪʃ.ɑː/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 4,255 girls were recorded with the name Misha between 1954 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 135 in 1991; its best national rank was #1,251 in 1991.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #2,059 in 2020 to #3,236 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #2,398 in 2015 to #3,236 in 2025.

In the United States, 603 boys were recorded with the name Misha between 1968 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 38 in 2021; its best national rank was #2,992 in 1993.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #3,884 in 2020 to #7,512 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #4,494 in 2015 to #7,512 in 2025.

How common is Misha?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 67,700
49 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 32,800
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#3,236
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
46,897 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Misha 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 46,897 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Misha. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Mishas were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Misha was born before 1996 — so the typical Misha is around 29 today.

Median birth year
1996
About 29 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
20.4% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
46.7%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
4,255
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 20.4% of all recorded uses (868).

Is Misha 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
−978
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−1,177
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−838
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.64×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
36.3%
Peak was 1991 (135)
Years since peak
34
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
17.6% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,251
1991

Spellings of Misha

Misha is not the most common spelling — Lisa is, with 45.3% against Misha's 0.20%.

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 Misha is used — girls

Across 2016–2025, Misha was most concentrated in New Jersey — about 1 in 5,263 girls, against 1 in 16,685 across all states with data. It was least common in Georgia (1 in 100,000).

119 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1New Jersey1 in 5,263
  2. 2Massachusetts1 in 10,000
  3. 3California1 in 12,500
  4. 4Washington1 in 12,500
  5. 5New York1 in 14,286
  6. 6Pennsylvania1 in 20,000
  7. 7Texas1 in 20,000
  8. 8Virginia1 in 20,000

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.

Where Misha is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Misha was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — boys, against 1 in 533,627 across all states with data. It was least common in Washington (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2New York1 in —
  3. 3Washington1 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. Misha has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Misha around the world

Where Misha 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
    #1,315
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    1993–2016
    #798
    in 2016
  • Ireland
    2009–2024
    #898
    in 2024
  • France
    1974–2025
    #6,476
    in 2025
  • Canada
    1991–2024
    #913
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1973–2013
    #818
    in 2013

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

Misha by the numbers

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

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#3,236
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 1,177
Best rank ever
#1,251
1991
Peak year
1991
135 that year
First recorded
1954
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
4,255
Count in 2025
49

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#7,512
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 3,628
Best rank ever
#2,992
1993
Peak year
2021
38 that year
First recorded
1968
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
603
Count in 2025
11

Names similar to Misha

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

MissyDashaKeshaAyshaNishaMischaToshaLishaMistiPorshaTishaAnishaDaishaIshaPrishaTaishaMishkaKeeshaAyeshaMisaDayshaKrishaLaishaAlesha

Names with a curve like Misha

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

AyeshaJamilahBrieShoshanaTovaJordanaIlanaArianneFarahVaniaTalithaAmberly

Sibling names for Misha

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 Misha

Top names of 1991, Misha's peak yearThe 1990s in fullOther names that peaked in 1991Girls' names starting with MMichael Variations & NicknamesRussian Names