Misha
Feminine · “who is like God?”
Misha is given to both — 4,255 girls and 603 boys since 1880. See Misha as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Misha is two names in one spelling. In Russian it is the affectionate form of Mikhail and belongs firmly to men; in English-speaking countries and in South Asia it is a women's name. Both are real and the collision is worth knowing about.
How old is the name Misha?
Misha first appears in US birth records in 1954 — 71 years ago. The typical Misha alive today was born around 1997, making them about 28 years old. About 4,200 people named Misha are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Misha most popular?
Misha peaked in 1972, reaching #1248 nationally. Today it ranks #3211, 1,963 places below that high. See the whole 1972 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Mikhael to Misha
The story of Misha
Russian builds affectionate forms that function as complete second names — Mikhail becomes Misha, Aleksandr becomes Sasha — and both of those crossed into English as women's names in the twentieth century, because the -a ending reads as feminine to English speakers. The result is a genuine two-way name: Misha is a man in Moscow and a woman in Michigan. South Asian use is a third and separate line.
Meaningscholars disagree
who is like God?
The Russian Misha carries the meaning of Mikhail, the Hebrew rhetorical question also asked by Michael. The South Asian Misha is a separate name, given in Urdu-speaking families and generally treated as unrelated; its own derivation is not documented.
How the name formed
- Mikhael
- Mikhail
- Misha
Related forms: Миша · Michaela · Misha
Pronouncing Misha
MEE-shah
Two syllables, first stressed. English speakers often say MISH-uh, with a short first vowel.
Nicknames for Misha
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
- 1954
- Most girls named
- 1991135 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1248reached in 1972
- Change vs 2024
- −41.0%49 in 2025, from 83
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.
Misha in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Миша in Russian — transliteration
- Michaela in English — related form
- Misha in Urdu — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New Jersey.
Mishas among us
people named Misha are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 32,801 born in 2025 was named Misha
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Misha
- #3211
- Misha on the 2025 chart
- #896
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Misha went to 49 girls in 2025, but Mysha is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 64, which makes it the 896th most-given girls’ name of the year — 2,315 places above the chart.
- Misha49
- Mysha15
About 1 girl in 25,114 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 32,801 for Misha 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 Dominica test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Misha's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Dominica climbed just as high around 1916, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Dominica's path sketches the road Misha is walking now.
Misha 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 Misha is headed
Misha 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.
Misha beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Misha in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Five letters and two syllables, readable in Russian, English, Urdu and Spanish alike.
- It has a settled meaning through Michael, one of the best-documented names in existence.
- Warm and informal in sound without being a diminutive in English use.
- To any Russian speaker this is a man's name, and she will meet that reaction.
- The first vowel is said two ways in English and neither has won.
- Misha, Meesha and Mysha all appear in American records.
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What they receive
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Misha
Feminine · #3211 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Mishas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,200 people named Misha are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Misha?
- Misha is the most-used spelling in US records — 49 of the 64 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Mysha.
- How popular is the name Misha in 2025?
- Misha ranks #3211 among US girl names in 2025, with 49 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Misha?
- About 1 in every 32,801 US girls born in 2025 was named Misha — 49 in all.
- Will my child share the name Misha with classmates?
- Misha will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Misha
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Kristine#3211 · Jalaya#3211 · Gladys#3211 · Amyah#3211 · Dhara#3211 · Janelly#3211 · Dariela#3211 · Quetzalli#3211
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Misha? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Misha and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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