Michal
Feminine
Michal is given to both — 4,031 girls and 3,782 boys since 1880. See Michal as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Michal is a Hebrew women's name from the books of Samuel — Saul's daughter, David's first wife, and the only woman in the Bible said to love a man.
How old is the name Michal?
Michal first appears in US birth records in 1938 — 87 years ago. The typical Michal alive today was born around 1986, making them about 39 years old. About 3,700 people named Michal are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Michal most popular?
Michal peaked in 1942, reaching #853 nationally. Today it ranks #4265, 3,412 places below that high. See the whole 1942 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Michal
Michal is given a remarkable line: the text says she loved David, which it says of no other woman about a man. She lets him down through a window to escape her father, and much later despises him for dancing before the ark — the account is unusually sharp about a marriage going wrong. The name is used in Israel and appears in American records from the 1930s.
Meaningscholars disagree
Not established
The derivation is not settled. It is often read as a contraction of the question who is like God, the same as Michael, but a separate root about a brook or a stream has been proposed. Neither is established.
Pronouncing Michal
mee-KHAL
Two syllables with the stress on the second; the ch is a throat sound as in loch.
Nicknames for Michal
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1938
- Most girls named
- 198882 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #853reached in 1942
- Change vs 2023
- −21.4%33 in 2025, from 42
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Michal in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Michal in Hebrew — same name
- Michal in Czech — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, New Jersey.
Michals among us
people named Michal are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 48,705 born in 2025 was named Michal
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Concha test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Michal's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Concha climbed just as high around 1925, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Concha's path sketches the road Michal is walking now.
Michal sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Michal is headed
Michal should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Michal beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Michal in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented biblical figure with genuinely complex treatment in the text.
- Six letters and two syllables, quick to write.
- Very well used in Israel, so it has a real community behind it.
- In Czech and Polish it is a men's name, which is a real difference.
- The ch is a throat consonant English lacks and gets said as a plain k.
- American readers will see it as a misspelling of Michael.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Michal to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Michal? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Michal
Feminine · #4265 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Michals are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,700 people named Michal are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Michal in 2025?
- Michal ranks #4265 among US girl names in 2025, with 33 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Michal?
- About 1 in every 48,705 US girls born in 2025 was named Michal — 33 in all.
- Will my child share the name Michal with classmates?
- Michal will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Michal
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Hyacinth#4265 · Halina#4265 · Sadia#4265 · Zahava#4265 · Maiah#4265 · Daysi#4265 · Annalyse#4265 · Corrie#4265
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Michal? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Michal and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle