How popular is the baby name Michael in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Michael.

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Popularity of the baby name Michael


Posts that mention the name Michael

Where did the baby name Drexler come from in 1991?

Basketball player Clyde Drexler
Clyde Drexler

The surname-name Drexler first appeared in the U.S. baby name data 1991. It reached peak usage the very next year.

  • 1993: 6 baby boys named Drexler
  • 1992: 16 baby boys named Drexler [peak]
  • 1991: 6 baby boys named Drexler [debut]
  • 1990: unlisted
  • 1989: unlisted

Where did it come from?

Professional basketball player Clyde Drexler, who was named an All-Star ten times during his fifteen-year NBA career (from 1983 to 1998).

He spent most of those years with the Portland Trail Blazers, leading them to the NBA Finals twice: in 1990 (vs. Isiah Thomas’ Detroit Pistons) and again in 1992 (vs. Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls).

Following the 1991-92 season, Drexler finished second to Jordan in the vote for the league’s Most Valuable Player.

Drexler was the Blazers’ all-time scoring leader (with over 18,000 points) when he was traded to the Houston Rockets in early 1995. Months later — reunited with former University of Houston teammate Hakeem Olajuwon — he finally won an NBA Championship.

The surname Drexler is derived from the German occupational surname Drechsler, which originally referred to a wood turner.

What are your thoughts on Drexler as a first name?

P.S. “Clyde the Glide” may have also affected the usage of the baby name Clyde during his career, but it’s hard to tell.

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of Clyde Drexler during the 1992 NBA Playoffs (Western Conference, first round)

What gave the baby name Iesha a boost in 1991?

Scene from the music video for "Iesha" (1990) by Another Bad Creation
Scene from the music video for “Iesha”

The name Iesha, which first surfaced in the U.S. baby name data in the late 1960s, saw a distinct spike in usage in 1991:

  • 1993: 384 baby girls named Iesha [rank: 604th]
  • 1992: 581 baby girls named Iesha [rank: 432nd]
  • 1991: 1,896 baby girls named Iesha [rank: 157th]
  • 1990: 285 baby girls named Iesha [rank: 732nd]
  • 1989: 161 baby girls named Iesha

Why?

Because of the song “Iesha” by Another Bad Creation (ABC), an Atlanta-based hip-hop group made up of five young boys: Romell Chapman, Chris Sellers, David Shelton, and brothers Marliss and Demetrius Pugh.

“Iesha,” which was ABC’s debut single and biggest hit, “told the story of a playground attraction that turned into a Nintendo-and-cereal date.” The song was released in October of 1990 and peaked at #9 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in April of 1991.

Here’s what it sounds like:

The song was written (in new jack swing style) by record producer Dallas Austin and ABC’s manager Michael Bivins (a member of Bell Biv DeVoe).

What are your thoughts on the name Iesha?

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of the music video for “Iesha”

Popular baby names in Gibraltar, 2024

Flag of Gibraltar
Flag of Gibraltar

Last year, the British overseas territory of Gibraltar welcomed 331 babies — 148 baby girls and 183 baby boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia for girls and Noah/Thomas (tie) for boys.

Here are Gibraltar’s top girl names and top boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 5 baby girls
  2. Emilia, 4
  3. Matilda and Zara, 3 each (tie)

Boy names

  1. Noah and Thomas, 5 baby boys each (tie)
  2. Luca and Sebastian, 4 each (tie)
  3. Leon, Liam, Oliver, Ryan, Theo, and Tommy, 3 each (6-way tie)

The name Jamie was also given to three babies, but my source didn’t include much information on gender, so I don’t know if these three babies were boys, girls, or a mix of both.

The 36 names given to two babies each were Addison, Alexander, Annabelle, Arabella, Ariana, Axel, Celine, Charles, Emily, Emma, Enzo, Evan, George, Hugo, Jacob, Jesse, Julia, Kai, Kylian, Leo, Lucia, Luna, Maisie, Mia, Michael, Mila, Nicolas, Riley, Robyn, Romeo, Romy, Salma, Sofia, Stella, Thiago, and Zack.

And the 200+ names bestowed just once in Gibraltar last year were…

Adah, Adam, Adonis, Aiden, Aidon, Ajay, Alba, Albert, Aleia, Alesia, Alessandro, Alice, Alistair, Amara, Amber, Amelia, Amina, Amine, Amoura, Ana, Anas, Anaya, Andrew, Antonio, Archie, Aria, Arianna, Arley, Arlo, Arthur, Ava, Aya, Ayla, Azaria, Bella, Billy, Blake, Bodhi, Brenda, Caleb, Callie, Camden, Cara, Catharine, Cecilia, Charlie, Charlotte, Christian, Cleo, Connor, Cora, Danah, Daniella, Darcie, Darcy, Delilah, Duyna, Dylan, Edward, Eladio, Elena, Elia, Elian, Elias, Ella, Elliot, Ellis, Elowyn, Elton, Eric, Esmae, Esteban, Everleigh, Evie, Ezra, Frankie, Freya, Furkan, Gabriella, Geremiah, Gia, Gigi, Giorgia, Giorgio, Grace, Gracie, Hadley, Halo, Hannah, Haroun, Harper, Harry, Haven, Henry, Hudson, Ian, Inaaya, Inaya, Isabella, Isadora, Isla, Islam, Ivy, Jack, Jae, Jake, James, Jason, Javier, Jax, Jay, Jaylan, Joylisa, Jude, Jules, Kaine, Kallie, Katie, Kenzie, Kenzo, Khylo, Koby, Kody, Lara, Laurie, Lee, Lewis, Lilliana, Liya, Lorena, Louis, Luciano, Luke, Maeve, Manxin, Marcel, Martin, Mason, Matthew, Max, Milan, Millie, Mollie, Moshe, Mya, Myla, Naia, Naiomi, Naira, Nariah, Nellie, Niall, Nicola, Nylah, Osayd, Peter, Posie, Rachel, Rafaella, Ralfs, Ramy, Rayan, Reign, Reuven, Rian, Rina, Rio, Roan, Robbie, Robert, Roman, Rosa, Rose, Rotem, Ruairi, Ruben, Ruhe, Rupert, Sarah, Scarlett, Sean, Seth, Shashana, Shivika, Sophia, Sophie, Spencer, Sunny, Sykes, Talia, Tassim, Theodore, Tiana, Timothy, Tobias, Tristan, Tyler, Valentina, Victor, Yaakov, Zachary, Zayd, Zoe, Zyna, Zyon

Finally, here are Gibraltar’s 2023 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Source: “Thomas, Noah & Olivia the most popular baby names in 2024.” GBC News 25 Mar. 2025.

Image: Adapted from Flag of Gibraltar (public domain)

Where did the baby name Micheaux come from in 1983?

College basketball player Larry Micheaux
Larry Micheaux

The curious name Micheaux surfaced in the U.S. baby name data for two years during the 1980s:

  • 1985: unlisted
  • 1984: 5 baby boys named Micheaux
  • 1983: 16 baby boys named Micheaux (debut)
  • 1982: unlisted
  • 1981: unlisted

Why?

Because of college basketball player Larry Micheaux (pronounced MEE-shaw).

Micheaux was a member of the University of Houston’s successful “Phi Slama Jama” teams of the early 1980s. His teammates included future NBA stars Akeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.

During his last two years of college, Micheaux helped the Houston Cougars reach the NCAA Final Four (in 1982) and the NCAA National Championship Game (in 1983).

(In 1982, Houston lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels, featuring freshman phenom Michael Jordan, in the semifinals. The following year, after memorably defeating the Louisville Cardinals, a.k.a. the “Doctors of Dunk,” in the semifinals, Houston was upset by the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the championship game.)

Micheaux played in the NBA for a couple of seasons after college, but spent most of his professional career in Europe.

The French surname Micheaux can be traced back to the personal name Michel, which is the French form of Michael.

What are your thoughts on Micheaux as a first name?

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of Larry Micheaux during the 1983 NCAA Championship Game