Mikhael
Masculine · “who is like God?”
Mikhael is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 1,163 boys against 8 girls since 1880.
Mikhael is a Slavic and Arabic form of Michael — who is like God? — a rhetorical question expecting the answer nobody.
How old is the name Mikhael?
Mikhael first appears in US birth records in 1963 — 62 years ago. The typical Mikhael is a kid of about 11 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,100 people named Mikhael are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Mikhael most popular?
Mikhael peaked in 2020, reaching #2139 nationally. Today it ranks #2676, 537 places below that high. See the whole 2020 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Mikha'el to Mikhael
The story of Mikhael
Michael is the archangel who leads the heavenly armies in Daniel and Revelation, and his name is the war cry of that host. Mikhail is standard in Russian and Arabic alike, since the archangel belongs to all three Abrahamic traditions. Mikhael appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
who is like God?
From the Hebrew Mikha'el — mi, 'who', kha, 'like', El, 'God'. It is a full rhetorical question, unusual among names. Mikhael and Mikhail are Slavic and Arabic spellings. The Hebrew is transparent and undisputed.
How the name formed
- Mikha'el
- Mikhail
- Mikhael
Related forms: Михаил · ميخائيل · Michael
Pronouncing Mikhael
mee-kah-EL
Three syllables, stress on the third. English Michael is MY-kul.
Nicknames for Mikhael
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
- 1963
- Most boys named
- 202065 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2139reached in 2020
- Change vs 2024
- +11.6%48 in 2025, from 43
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.
Mikhael in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Михаил in Russian — transliteration
- ميخائيل in Arabic — transliteration
- Michael in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Mikhaels among us
people named Mikhael are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 35,585 born in 2025 was named Mikhael
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Mikhael
- #2676
- Mikhael on the 2025 chart
- #666
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Mikhael went to 48 boys in 2025, but Mikael, Mikaeel and Mickael and the rest below are the same name said out loud. Together the 6 spellings went to 272, which makes it the 666th most-given boys’ name of the year — 2,010 places above the chart.
About 1 boy in 6,280 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 35,585 for Mikhael itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Inocencio test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Mikhael's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Inocencio climbed just as high around 1967, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Inocencio's path sketches the road Mikhael is walking now.
Mikhael 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 Mikhael is headed
Mikhael should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low 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.
Mikhael beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Mikhael in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That the name is a rhetorical question is a first-rate piece of Hebrew.
- Misha and Mike are two short forms, both with real records.
- The archangel belongs to all three Abrahamic traditions.
- Michael is what English speakers will substitute.
- Several transliterations are in circulation.
- Three syllables and an unfamiliar stress will need dictating.
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Mikhael
Masculine · #2676 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Mikhaels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Mikhael are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Mikhael?
- Mikhael is one of 6 recorded spellings. Mikael is the more common one — 176 births in 2025 against 48 for Mikhael.
- How popular is the name Mikhael in 2025?
- Mikhael ranks #2676 among US boy names in 2025, with 48 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Mikhael?
- About 1 in every 35,585 US boys born in 2025 was named Mikhael — 48 in all.
- Will my child share the name Mikhael with classmates?
- Mikhael will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Mikhael
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Zyion#2676 · Hershel#2676 · Kylon#2676 · Isaak#2676 · Pryce#2676 · Davin#2676 · Juancarlos#2676 · Masyn#2676
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Mikhael? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Mikhael and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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