girl's name
Michaela
mi-KAY-luh
- Origin Hebrew
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 8
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 65,152
the United States
#841
2025 births
Michaela is a question, not a statement — the Hebrew behind it asks who is like God, which was a rhetorical challenge rather than a claim, and the answer it expects is nobody. Ireland ranks it highest of our six markets.
- Michaela is a name of Hebrew origin.
- Peaked in 1997, when 3,405 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 10,264 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1921.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Michaela over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1920s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1920s | 17 |
| 1930s | 58 |
| 1940s | 273 |
| 1950s | 640 |
| 1960s | 937 |
| 1970s | 1,455 |
| 1980s | 4,626 |
| 1990s | 23,218 |
| 2000s | 13,092 |
| 2010s | 6,737 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,649 |
What Michaela means
Michaela means who is like God. The Hebrew is a question in form and in intent, and the expected answer is that no one is, so it reads as a denial rather than a comparison.
Where Michaela comes from
Michaela is the feminine of Michael, from the Hebrew Mikha'el — mi, who, kha, like, and El, God. It is phrased as a question, and in context the answer is nobody: the archangel Michael is given the name as a war cry against those who would set themselves up as equal to God. Rendering it as a statement, resembling God, inverts the sense. Mikayla, in this same group, is the American respelling of the same name.
Michaela in use
Michaela peaked in the United States in 1997, when 3,405 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in all seven markets we track — 289th in Ireland on 15 births, 479th in Northern Ireland, 541st in Canada, 602nd in Scotland on 5, 757th in England and Wales on 49, 841st in the United States on 323 and 3668th in France on 10 — across 65,152 lifetime births. Ireland ranks it highest by a wide margin.
How popular is Michaela?
In 2025, Michaela was given to 323 babies in the United States, ranking #841 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Michaela is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Michaela is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Michaëla | Michaëla is a rare spelling of Michaela, written with a diaeresis and recorded about 90 times, mostly in France. | 90 |
Names that peaked alongside Michaela
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Michaela also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Michaela over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Michaela
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Michaela in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Michaela
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Michaela — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Michaela
What does the name Michaela mean?
Who is like God — a question whose expected answer is nobody.
Does it mean resembling God?
No. Rendering the question as a statement inverts the sense.
Is Mikayla the same name?
Yes — the American respelling. Both are large enough to hold their own page here.
Where is Michaela most used?
Ireland at 289th, well ahead of the United States at 841st.
How popular is the name Michaela?
In 2025, Michaela was given to 323 babies in the United States, ranking #841 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Michaela a girl's or a boy's name?
Michaela is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Michaela?
Michaela has 3 syllables.
When was Michaela most popular?
Michaela peaked in 1997, when 3,405 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Michaela?
Michaela is usually shortened to Mick.
Is Michaela a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Michaela currently ranks #289 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.