Misha
Masculine · “Hebrew "who is like God?”
Misha is given to both — 603 boys and 4,255 girls since 1880. See Misha as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Misha is the male counterpart to Masha, and the pair shows how the Russian diminutive system works. Mikhail gives Misha; Maria gives Masha. The rule is the same in both cases — take the stressed syllable, replace what follows with -sha — and the results are as unlike their parents in sound as Bob is unlike Robert.
How old is the name Misha?
Misha first appears in US birth records in 1968 — 57 years ago. The typical Misha alive today was born around 2010, making them about 15 years old. About 600 people named Misha are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Misha most popular?
Misha peaked in 1993, reaching #2943 nationally. Today it ranks #7194, 4,251 places below that high. See the whole 1993 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From מִיכָאֵל (Mikhael) to Misha
The story of Misha
Russian forms diminutives by a productive rule and then stacks affectionate suffixes on the result: Mikhail gives Misha, Misha gives Mishenka and Mishka. Because the system is fully alive, a Russian speaker hears Misha as informal rather than as an independent name, which is not how it functions in American records. Its 1993 American peak reflects post-Soviet emigration and, in the same years, a number of visible Russian and Soviet-born figures in dance, chess and film.
Meaning
Hebrew "who is like God?"
From Mikhael: mi, who, ka, like, and el, God — a rhetorical question, and the traditional battle cry of the archangel who bears it. It is one of the few Hebrew names that is a question rather than a statement. Misha derives from the Russian Mikhail and carries the same meaning at one remove.
How the name formed
- מִיכָאֵלMikhael
- МихаилMikhail
- МишаMisha
Related forms: Миша · Михаил (Mikhail) · Michael · מִיכָאֵל
Pronouncing Misha
MEE-shah
Two syllables, stress on the first, with a long EE. It is not MISH-uh with a short vowel, which is how many English speakers first read it. The final vowel is reduced in Russian too.
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
- 1968
- Most boys named
- 202138 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2943reached in 1993
- Change vs 2024
- −42.1%11 in 2025, from 19
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 — same name
- Михаил (Mikhail) in Russian — related form
- Michael in English — same name
- מִיכָאֵל in Hebrew — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Washington.
Mishas among us
people named Misha are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 155,280 born in 2025 was named Misha
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 Reginaldo 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: Reginaldo climbed just as high around 1954, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Reginaldo'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
Misha beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Misha in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It connects to one of the most-used names in the world through a genuine Russian form.
- The meaning is settled and unusually striking — a question, not a description.
- It is short, warm and easy to say.
- Russian speakers hear it as a nickname rather than a full name.
- In America it is also used for girls, which Russian never does.
- The first vowel is regularly shortened by English speakers.
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What they receive
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Misha
Masculine · #7194 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 600 people named Misha are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Misha in 2025?
- Misha ranks #7194 among US boy names in 2025, with 11 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Misha?
- About 1 in every 155,280 US boys born in 2025 was named Misha — 11 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.
Junius#7194 · Orie#7194 · Shade#7194 · Chesley#7194 · Joesph#7194 · Lofton#7194 · Macon#7194 · Benjiman#7194
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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