Mishka
Feminine · “who is like God?”
Mishka is the Russian double diminutive of Mikhail, and it is also the ordinary Russian word for a little bear — which is why Russian children's toys and Olympic mascots carry it.
How old is the name Mishka?
Mishka first appears in US birth records in 1993 — 32 years ago. The typical Mishka is a kid of about 7 — this name's wave is very recent. About 800 people named Mishka are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Mishka most popular?
Mishka peaked in 2019, reaching #2272 nationally. Today it ranks #3712, 1,440 places below that high. See the whole 2019 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Mikhail to Mishka
The story of Mishka
Russian builds affectionate forms in layers — Mikhail gives Misha and Misha gives Mishka — and somewhere along the way the bear attached itself, because Mikhailo Potapych is the bear's name in Russian folktales. The 1980 Moscow Olympics mascot was a bear called Misha. In English-speaking countries Mishka is used for girls, which reverses the Russian sense entirely.
Meaningscholars disagree
who is like God?; little bear
As a name Mishka is the affectionate form of Misha, itself from Mikhail, the Hebrew rhetorical question also asked by Michael. As an ordinary word mishka is a little bear, and the two senses have run together in Russian for a long time.
How the name formed
- Mikhail
- Misha
- Mishka
Related forms: Мишка · Michaela
Pronouncing Mishka
MEESH-kah
Two syllables, first stressed. English speakers often say MISH-kuh.
Nicknames for Mishka
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
- 1993
- Most girls named
- 201980 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2272reached in 2019
- Change vs 2024
- +73.9%40 in 2025, from 23
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.
Mishka in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Мишка in Russian — transliteration
- Michaela in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New Jersey.
Mishkas among us
people named Mishka are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 40,182 born in 2025 was named Mishka
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 Stephane test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Mishka's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Stephane climbed just as high around 1967, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Stephane's path sketches the road Mishka is walking now.
Mishka 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 Mishka is headed
Mishka is easing off slowly — about 42% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues. 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.
Mishka beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Mishka in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning through Michael, one of the best-documented names in existence.
- The bear sense is warm, well known and easy to explain.
- Six letters and two syllables, quick to write.
- To any Russian speaker this is a boy's name and a bear, which she will meet.
- It is a double diminutive by construction, which reads as very small in Russian.
- The first vowel is said differently in Russian and English.
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What they receive
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Mishka
Feminine · #3712 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Mishkas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Mishka are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Mishka in 2025?
- Mishka ranks #3712 among US girl names in 2025, with 40 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Mishka?
- About 1 in every 40,182 US girls born in 2025 was named Mishka — 40 in all.
- Will my child share the name Mishka with classmates?
- Mishka will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Mishka
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Monet#3712 · Barrett#3712 · October#3712 · Aubrianna#3712 · Berkleigh#3712 · Zailey#3712 · Zaiya#3712 · Ora#3712
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Mishka? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Mishka and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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