Miki
Feminine · “Hebrew mi kael”
Miki is given to both — 1,812 girls and 73 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Michael is a question, not a statement. The Hebrew is mi-ka-el, who is like God, and it is asked rhetorically, expecting the answer nobody. Hebrew has a small set of these interrogative names and Michael is by far the most successful of them.
How old is the name Miki?
Miki first appears in US birth records in 1942 — 83 years ago. The typical Miki alive today was born around 1979, making them about 46 years old. About 1,700 people named Miki are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Miki most popular?
Miki peaked in 1973, reaching #1527 nationally. Today it ranks #10107, 8,580 places below that high. See the whole 1973 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Mikael to Miki
The story of Miki
Hebrew names are often whole sentences, and a few of them are questions. Michael asks who is like God; Micah is the same question shortened; Mishael in the book of Daniel asks it again in another form. The question is rhetorical, and the answer it expects is silence, which makes the name a small piece of theology rather than a description of the child. English speakers using Michael, Michelle, Michaela and their many clippings almost never hear the interrogative, because the sentence has been worn down to a sound. Miki is at the far end of that erosion: two syllables and four letters, with the -i ending that American naming used as a female marker in the 1970s, and the question entirely invisible.
Meaning
Hebrew mi kael, who is like God
Miki is a short form of Michelle, Michaela or Micah, all built on Hebrew mikael, a rhetorical question meaning who is like God. It is separately a Japanese name written with several different characters, and a Hungarian and Slavic diminutive of Miklos. The American peak is 1973.
How the name formed
- Mikael
- Michelle
- Miki
Related forms: Miki · Miki · Mickie
Pronouncing Miki
MIK-ee
Two syllables, stress on the first. The Japanese Miki has level stress and a purer first vowel.
Nicknames for Miki
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
- 1942
- Most girls named
- 197361 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1527reached in 1973
- Change vs 2022
- +28.6%9 in 2025, from 7
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.
Miki in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Miki in Japanese — related form
- Miki in Hungarian — related form
- Mickie in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Mikis among us
people named Miki are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 178,585 born in 2025 was named Miki
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 Darlena test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Miki's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Darlena climbed just as high around 1958, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Darlena's path sketches the road Miki is walking now.
Miki 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
Miki beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Miki in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Four letters, two syllables, nothing silent.
- Michelle and Michaela are both available as formal versions.
- The same spelling works as a name in Japanese and Hungarian too.
- Mickey is male in American use and sounds identical.
- It reads as a nickname rather than a full name.
- The 1973 peak dates the -i spelling.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Miki to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Miki
Feminine · #10107 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Mikis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,700 people named Miki are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Miki in 2025?
- Miki ranks #10107 among US girl names in 2025, with 9 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Miki?
- About 1 in every 178,585 US girls born in 2025 was named Miki — 9 in all.
- Will my child share the name Miki with classmates?
- Miki will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Miki
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Berta#10107 · Jettie#10107 · Maye#10107 · Osa#10107 · Fidelia#10107 · Alysa#10107 · Su#10107 · Willie#10107
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Miki? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Miki 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
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