Names like Michael
In 2025, 8,094 boys born in the US were named Michael, #21 among boys' names.
It has been in the top 100 in every one of the 146 years on record.
Its best rank was #1, in 44 of the years from 1954 to 1998.
The most births in one year were 92,781, in 1957.
Births fell 44% from 14,504 in 2015.
All 12 names below have also been in the top 1,000 every year since 1880.
Michael's rank every ten years
- 1880#46
- 1890#48
- 1900#51
- 1910#45
- 1920#50
- 1930#54
- 1940#18
- 1950#4
- 1960#2
- 1970#1
- 1980#1
- 1990#1
- 2000#2
- 2010#3
- 2020#12
- 2025#21
12 boy names with a similar curve
| Name | Rank in 2025 | Births in 2025 | In the top 1,000 every year since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel | #22 | 8,085 | 1880 |
| David | #35 | 6,794 | 1880 |
| Matthew | #32 | 7,003 | 1880 |
| Anthony | #46 | 5,967 | 1880 |
| Andrew | #73 | 4,497 | 1880 |
| Christopher | #68 | 4,748 | 1880 |
| Jacob | #43 | 6,152 | 1880 |
| Joseph | #29 | 7,303 | 1880 |
| Alexander | #30 | 7,230 | 1880 |
| William | #9 | 10,545 | 1880 |
| Samuel | #18 | 8,334 | 1880 |
| Benjamin | #11 | 9,762 | 1880 |
How this list was made
We compared Michael's rank in every year from 1880 to 2025 with every other boy's name in the 2025 top 1,000 (US Social Security birth records); the closest curves come first. Years outside the top 1,000 count the same however far outside, years since 1995 count four times as much, and each name appears in one spelling.