Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Michelle?
Births per year, rank history and how many Michelles are alive today.
Michelle (female), once a common girls' name, is now an uncommon choice for new babies in England and Wales, ranked 346th in 2025 with 124 given the name. This spelling of the name peaked in 1974, when around 6,800 babies were given the name, the 7th most popular that year. It has declined since 1974; the 2025 figure is roughly 2% of its peak. Numbers have been rising in recent years. At least 110,000 babies have been named Michelle in England and Wales since 1964. Figures before 1996 are estimates. Michelle is one spelling of a name also recorded as Michele; the combined figures below cover every spelling. Common short forms of Michelle include Mia, Misha and Mica.
Across all spellings of the name, the Michelle you are most likely to meet is around 52 years old. Half of all Michelles born in England and Wales are between 45 and 56, and there are at least 120,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 females, there's roughly a 32% chance that at least one of them will be called Michelle.
How many babies are named Michelle each year?
Includes all spellings: Michelle, Michele. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does the Michelle spelling rank?
Where does the Michele spelling rank?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Michelle most popular?
Michelle peaked in 1974, when around 6,800 babies in England and Wales were given the name across all spellings.
How many people are called Michelle?
At least 120,000 people named Michelle in any spelling born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Michelle?
Most living Michelles are between 45 and 56; the most common age is about 52.
Is Michelle becoming more or less popular?
Rising: numbers have been climbing in recent years.