boy's name
Mitchell
MITCH-ul
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 8
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 186,057
the United States
#952
2025 births
Mitchell is a boy's name from a medieval English form of Michael, meaning who is like God — though a second and quite separate source exists from an old word simply meaning big. It peaked in 1994.
- Mitchell is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1994, when 5,391 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 13,532 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Mitchell over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 298 |
| 1890s | 346 |
| 1900s | 460 |
| 1910s | 2,638 |
| 1920s | 3,555 |
| 1930s | 2,639 |
| 1940s | 6,163 |
| 1950s | 22,040 |
| 1960s | 22,808 |
| 1970s | 13,125 |
| 1980s | 24,809 |
| 1990s | 42,222 |
| 2000s | 17,040 |
| 2010s | 5,300 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,748 |
What Mitchell means
Mitchell means who is like God, carried from Michael. A separate Middle English michel, meaning big or great, gives an unrelated surname that fell together with it.
Where Mitchell comes from
Mitchell is a surname from Michel, the medieval English and French form of Michael — the Hebrew Mikha'el, who is like God, a rhetorical question whose answer is nobody. A second and quite separate source is the Middle English michel or mickle, meaning big — the word in the proverb many a mickle makes a muckle — which produced a byname for a large man. The two are indistinguishable in the surname record. Mitchell is also a common Irish anglicization of Ó Maoilmhichil, devotee of Saint Michael, so the Michael route arrives twice.
Mitchell in use
Mitchell peaked in the United States in 1994, when 5,391 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 567th in Scotland on 5 births, 952nd in the United States on 245 and 1565th in England and Wales on 17, across 186,057 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. Scotland places it well above both other markets.
How popular is Mitchell?
In 2025, Mitchell was given to 245 babies in the United States, ranking #952 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Mitchell 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.
Names that peaked alongside Mitchell
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Mitchell also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Mitchell over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Mitchell
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.
Mitchell 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 Mitchell
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Mitchell — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Mitchell
What does the name Mitchell mean?
Who is like God, from Michael — though a separate Middle English word meaning big also produced the surname.
Is Mitchell related to Michael?
Yes, through the medieval form Michel, and again through the Irish Ó Maoilmhichil.
Does Mitchell mean big?
One of its two sources does — the Middle English michel, as in many a mickle makes a muckle.
How popular is Mitchell?
952nd in the United States and 567th in Scotland.
Is Mitchell a girl's or a boy's name?
Mitchell is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Mitchell?
Mitchell has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Mitchell?
Mitchell is usually shortened to Mitch.
Is Mitchell a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Mitchell currently ranks #567 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.