boy's name
Mikey
MY-kee
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 4,170
Ireland
#175
2025 births
Mikey is a boy's name of Hebrew origin, a diminutive of Michael, and the full name is a rhetorical question rather than a statement. It ranks 175th in Ireland and 930th in England and Wales.
- Mikey is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in England and Wales in 2010, when 131 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in England and Wales.
- Today about 1 in 15,498 babies in England and Wales is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1996.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Mikey over time
Births per decade in England and Wales, 1990s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1990s | 84 |
| 2000s | 646 |
| 2010s | 845 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 238 |
What Mikey means
Mikey inherits Michael's meaning, which is a question: who is like God? It expects the answer nobody, so the name is a challenge to any rival claim rather than a description of the child.
Where Mikey comes from
Mikey is a diminutive of Michael, from the Hebrew Mikha'el — mi, who, kha, like, and El, God. The construction is unusual: most Hebrew names are statements, and this one is a rhetorical question whose implied answer is no one. Michael is the archangel who leads the heavenly armies against the dragon in Revelation and who is named in Daniel as the protector of Israel; he is the only figure the Bible calls an archangel. In Irish use Mikey is a long-established spoken familiar form, in the same family as Séimí from Séamus and Paudie from Pádraig, and it has moved onto birth certificates in the last thirty years. Micheál, Mícheál and Mick are the other Irish forms.
Mikey in use
Mikey ranks 175th in Ireland with 29 births in 2025 and 930th in England and Wales, and it is falling in our data from a peak in 2010. Our records carry it from 1996, so its registered life is recent even though the spoken form is much older. Michael itself ranks far higher in every market and is counted separately.
How popular is Mikey?
In 2025, Mikey was given to 34 babies in England and Wales, ranking #930 that year. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Mikey is used
Figures for England and Wales withhold any name given to fewer than three babies in a year, so a gap means the name fell below that floor rather than went unused. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Mikey
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Mikey also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Mikey over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Mikey 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 Mikey
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Mikey — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Mikey
What does the name Mikey mean?
It inherits Michael's meaning: "who is like God?" — a rhetorical question expecting the answer no one.
Is Michael a question?
Yes, unusually. Most Hebrew names are statements; this one is a challenge to any rival claim.
Is Mikey short for Michael?
Yes, and in Ireland it is a long-established spoken form that has moved onto birth certificates recently.
How popular is Mikey?
175th in Ireland and 930th in England and Wales.
Is Mikey a girl's or a boy's name?
Mikey is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Mikey?
Mikey has 2 syllables.
Is Mikey a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Mikey currently ranks #175 in England and Wales. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.