Mick
Masculine · “who is like God?”
Mick is a short form of Michael, and it has a difficult second life — it was used as a slur against Irish people for a century and a half.
How old is the name Mick?
Mick first appears in US birth records in 1915 — 110 years ago. The typical Mick alive today was born around 1990, making them about 35 years old. About 2,200 people named Mick are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Mick most popular?
Mick peaked in 1957, reaching #1250 nationally. Today it ranks #4539, 3,289 places below that high. See the whole 1957 chart.
Where it comes from
From Mikha'el to Mick
The story of Mick
Michael was so common among Irish Catholics that the short form became a generic label and then an insult in nineteenth-century Britain and America, alongside Paddy from Patrick. Both words are still offensive in some contexts and entirely ordinary in others — Irish people use Mick among themselves freely. The name is well used in Ireland and Australia and appears in American records through the twentieth century.
Meaning
who is like God?
From Hebrew Mikha'el, a rhetorical question; Mick is the Irish and English short form. Its use as an ethnic slur derives from the frequency of Michael and of Mc- surnames among Irish emigrants.
How the name formed
- Mikha'el
- Michael
- Mick
Related forms: Michael · Mícheál · Mike
Pronouncing Mick
MIK
One syllable. There is no variation in English.
Nicknames for Mick
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
- 1915
- Most boys named
- 199047 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1250reached in 1957
- Change vs 2023
- −50.0%22 in 2025, from 44
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.
Mick in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Michael in English — related form
- Mícheál in Irish — related form
- Mike in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Wisconsin, Ohio.
Micks among us
people named Mick are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 77,640 born in 2025 was named Mick
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 Holt test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Mick's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Holt climbed just as high around 1906, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Holt's path sketches the road Mick is walking now.
Mick 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
Mick beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Mick in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning that is a complete question with a known answer.
- Michael stands behind it as a fuller formal option.
- Four letters and one syllable — as short as a name gets.
- It has been used as an anti-Irish slur and still is in some places.
- It reads as a nickname, which may matter on a formal document.
- It is strongly associated with one mid-century generation.
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What they receive
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Mick
Masculine · #4539 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Micks are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,200 people named Mick are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Mick in 2025?
- Mick ranks #4539 among US boy names in 2025, with 22 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Mick?
- About 1 in every 77,640 US boys born in 2025 was named Mick — 22 in all.
- Will my child share the name Mick with classmates?
- Mick will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Mick
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Nels#4539 · Gabe#4539 · Michel#4539 · Elroy#4539 · Orlin#4539 · Pearce#4539 · Josemaria#4539 · Napoleon#4539
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Mick? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Mick and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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