Mikal
Feminine · “A form of Michael”
Mikal is given to both — 591 girls and 3,334 boys since 1880. See Mikal as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Mikal is Michael with every silent letter taken out, and it is also the form of the archangel's name in the Quran. It has been given to boys and to a real minority of girls.
How old is the name Mikal?
Mikal first appears in US birth records in 1945 — 80 years ago. The typical Mikal alive today was born around 1992, making them about 33 years old. About 600 people named Mikal are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Mikal most popular?
Mikal peaked in 1975, reaching #2411 nationally. See the whole 1975 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Mikha'el to Mikal
The story of Mikal
The Quran names the archangel Michael once, as Mikal, beside Jibril, Gabriel, in a verse that warns against being an enemy of God's angels. In English, Michael carries a ch said as k and an ae said as one vowel, and Mikal writes just what is heard. The spelling can arrive by either road, Arabic or English.
Meaning
A form of Michael, 'who is like God?'
Michael is a Hebrew question, 'who is like God?'; Mikal is the Arabic form of the angel's name and an English spelling by sound.
How the name formed
- Mikha'el
- Michael
- Mikal
Related forms: Mikail · Michael · Mikael
Pronouncing Mikal
MY-kul
Two syllables with the stress on the first; some say mih-KAHL.
Nicknames for Mikal
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
- 1945
- Most girls named
- 197533 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2411reached in 1975
- Change vs 2019
- +33.3%8 in 2020, from 6
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.
Mikal in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Mikail in Arabic — same name
- Michael in English — spelling variant
- Mikael in Swedish — same name
Mikals among us
people named Mikal are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Mikal sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Sounds like Michael, a name everyone knows.
- Spelled as it is said.
- Rooted in more than one tradition.
- Many will write Michael or Mikhail.
- The pronunciation varies.
- Most children with this spelling are boys, but a real minority are girls; either may be taken for the other.
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What they receive
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Mikal
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Mikals are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Mikal are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Mikal in 2025?
- Mikal is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Mikal with classmates?
- Mikal will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More M names
The most-given names starting with M, all years combined.
Mary#125 · Margaret#112 · Michelle#465 · Melissa#419 · Maria#87 · Martha#712 · Marie#617 · Mildred#1962
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Mikal? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Mikal and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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