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

Popular baby names in Philadelphia, 2005-2016

Flag of Pennsylvania
Flag of Pennsylvania

Did you know that you can find old vital statistics reports for the City of Philadelphia on the city’s website? And that most of these reports include baby name rankings?

I don’t want you to have to comb through a bunch of PDFs to find Philly’s historical top-ten lists, though, so — just as with New York City and Austin — I gathered all of them into a single blog post.

I was able to track down eleven sets of rankings — six covering 2005 to 2010, five covering 2012 to 2016. Eight of them also happen to include total numbers of babies.

2016

The most popular baby names in Philadelphia in 2016.

Top girl names (Philly, 2016)Top boy names (Philly, 2016)
1. Ava, 92 baby girls
2. Sophia, 80
3. Isabella, 69 (tie)
4. Riley, 69 (tie)
5. Mia, 67
6. Olivia, 66
7. Emma, 62
8. Emily, 61
9. Madison, 54
10. Aubrey, 52		1. Noah, 143 baby boys
2. Mason, 104
3. Liam, 100
4. Elijah, 83 (tie)
5. Michael, 83 (tie)
6. James, 76
7. Alexander, 75 (3-way tie)
8. Ethan, 75 (3-way tie)
9. Ryan, 75 (3-way tie)
10. Aiden, 70

2015

The most popular baby names in Philadelphia in 2015.

Top girl names (Philly, 2015)Top boy names (Philly, 2015)
1. Ava, 110 baby girls
2. Olivia, 101
3. Isabella, 95
4. Mia, 82
5. Madison, 70
6. Sophia, 69
7. Emma, 64
8. Aubrey, 62
9. Skylar, 54 (tie)
10. Sofia, 54 (tie)		1. Noah, 138 baby boys
2. Mason, 129
3. Michael, 101
4. Liam, 100
5. Daniel, 95
6. Jayden, 94
7. Elijah, 88
8. Aiden, 82
9. Ethan, 78
10. James, 73

2014

The most popular baby names in Philadelphia in 2014.

Top girl names (Philly, 2014)Top boy names (Philly, 2014)
1. Olivia, 91 baby girls
2. Ava, 89
3. Isabella, 77 (tie)
4. Madison, 77 (tie)
5. Mia, 73
6. Emma, 71 (tie)
7. Sophia, 71 (tie)
8. Aubrey, 58
9. Emily, 55
10. Skylar, 52		1. Mason, 133 baby boys
2. Noah, 124
3. Ethan, 104
4. Daniel, 96 (tie)
5. Liam, 96 (tie)
6. Jayden, 93
7. Michael, 88
8. James, 87
9. Aiden, 82 (tie)
10. Logan, 82 (tie)

2013

The most popular baby names in Philadelphia in 2013.

Top girl names (Philly, 2013)Top boy names (Philly, 2013)
1. Isabella, 95 baby girls
2. Sophia, 92
3. Ava, 85
4. Madison, 76
5. Olivia, 71
6. Emma, 66
7. Aubrey, 63
8. Mia, 54
9. Layla, 53
10. Abigail, 45		1. Jayden, 117 baby boys
2. Noah, 111
3. Michael, 108
4. Mason, 107
5. Liam, 94
6. Jacob, 88
7. Aiden, 86
8. Ryan, 82
9. Ethan, 81 (tie)
10. James, 81 (tie)

2012

The most popular baby names in Philadelphia in 2012.

Top girl names (Philly, 2012)Top boy names (Philly, 2012)
1. Sophia, 105 baby girls
2. Isabella, 97
3. Ava, 90
4. Olivia, 84
5. Madison, 79
6. Emma, 69
7. Mia, 55
8. Peyton, 50 (tie)
9. Layla, 50 (tie)
10. Zoe, 49		1. Jayden, 138 baby boys
2. Michael, 110
3. Aiden, 108
4. Mason, 104
5. James, 95 (tie)
6. Elijah, 95 (tie)
7. Noah, 92
8. Ethan, 90
9. Jacob, 87
10. Liam, 86

2010

The most popular baby names in Philadelphia in 2010.

Top girl names (Philly, 2010)Top boy names (Philly, 2010)
1. Isabella
2. Madison
3. Sophia
4. Ava
5. London
6. Kayla
7. Mia
8. Makayla
9. Nevaeh
10. Emma		1. Jayden
2. Michael
3. Anthony
4. Joshua
5. Elijah
6. Joseph
7. Ryan
8. Aiden
9. Christopher
10. Jacob

2009

The most popular baby names in Philadelphia in 2009.

Top girl names (Philly, 2009)Top boy names (Philly, 2009)
1. Sophia
2. Isabella
3. Kayla
4. Olivia
5. Nevaeh
6. Makayla
7. Layla
8. London
9. Madison
10. Ava		1. Jayden
2. Michael
3. Anthony
4. Joshua
5. Daniel
6. Joseph
7. Christopher
8. Christian
9. Nathan
10. Elijah

2008

The most popular baby names in Philadelphia in 2008.

Top girl names (Philly, 2008)Top boy names (Philly, 2008)
1. Kayla
2. Isabella
3. Ava
4. Sophia
5. Madison
6. Olivia
7. Destiny
8. Emily
9. Mia
10. London		1. Jayden
2. Michael
3. Anthony
4. Christopher
5. Daniel
6. Joshua
7. Ryan
8. Joseph
9. Nicholas
10. Ethan

2007

The most popular baby names in Philadelphia in 2007.

Top girl names (Philly, 2007)Top boy names (Philly, 2007)
1. Kayla, 101 baby girls
2. Ava, 74 (tie)
3. Sophia, 74 (tie)
4. Olivia, 71
5. Madison, 62
6. Emily, 53 (tie)
7. Isabella, 53 (tie)
8. Mia, 52
9. Aniyah, 51 (tie)
10. Gianna, 51 (tie)		1. Anthony, 151 baby boys
2. Michael, 150
3. Jayden, 144
4. Christopher, 116
5. Joseph, 112
6. Ryan, 103
7. Joshua, 101
8. William, 92
9. Daniel, 89
10. David, 87

2006

The most popular baby names in Philadelphia in 2006.

Top girl names (Philly, 2006)Top boy names (Philly, 2006)
1. Kayla, 105 baby girls
2. Isabella, 69
3. Destiny, 66
4. Emily, 64
5. Gianna, 62
6. Jayla, 61
7. Ava, 60
8. Sophia, 54
9. Alyssa, 53 (tie)
10. Brianna, 53 (tie)		1. Michael, 156 baby boys
2. Anthony, 153
3. Christopher, 120
4. Joseph, 111
5. Joshua, 104
6. Elijah, 91
7. Isaiah, 89
8. Daniel, 88 (3-way tie)
9. David, 88 (3-way tie)
10. William, 88 (3-way tie)

2005

The most popular baby names in Philadelphia in 2005.

Top girl names (Philly, 2005)Top boy names (Philly, 2005)
1. Kayla, 93 baby girls
2. Destiny, 79
3. Emily, 69
4. Madison, 61
5. Samantha, 53
6. Angelina, 52
7. Ava, 50 (tie)
8. Brianna, 50 (tie)
9. Makayla, 49
10. Olivia, 48		1. Michael, 156 baby boys
2. Anthony, 140
3. Christopher, 125
4. Joseph, 123
5. Joshua, 102
6. Daniel, 101
7. Nicholas, 99
8. Matthew, 97
9. John, 84
10. Isaiah, 82

Finally, because Philadelphia and New York City are relatively close to one another, I thought I’d compare/contrast the rankings above with the NYC rankings for the same years (2005 to 2016, excluding 2011).

Parents in both cities often liked the same names, but not always at the same time, or to the same degree. During the years that Kayla ranked #1 in Philly, for instance, it was already on the decline in NYC.

Here are all the names that reached the top 10 at least twice in one city, but zero times in the other city:

Girl namesBoy names
Top-10 in Philly only
(2+ instances)		Aubrey, Destiny, Gianna, Layla, London, Makayla, Nevaeh, SkylarElijah, Isaiah, James, Mason, William
Top-10 in NYC only
(2+ instances)		Ashley, Chloe, Leah, Sarah, RachelDylan, Justin

Any thoughts on these differences?

Sources: Philadelphia‘s Vital Statistics Reports for 2016 (pdf), 2015 (pdf), 2014 (pdf), 2013 (pdf), 2012 (pdf), 2010 (pdf), 2009 (pdf), 2008 (pdf), 2007 (pdf), 2006 (pdf), 2005 (pdf)

Image: Adapted from Flag of Pennsylvania (public domain)

Popular baby names in Johnston County (North Carolina), 2024

Flag of North Carolina
Flag of North Carolina

Last year, North Carolina’s Johnston County welcomed 2,063 babies — 1,022 girls and 1,041 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Liam.

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

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 12 baby girls
  2. Emma, 10
  3. Amelia & Evelyn, 8 each (tie)
  4. Charlotte, Genesis, Mia & Valentina, 7 each (4-way tie)
  5. Ailany, Camila, Josephine & Lainey, 6 each (4-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Liam, 17 baby boys
  2. Levi, 11
  3. William, 9
  4. Daniel, Julian, Michael & Samuel, 8 each (4-way tie)
  5. Amir, Carson, Elias, Grayson, Jason, Jeremeiah [sic], Noah, Oliver, Waylon & Wyatt, 7 each (10-way tie)

(“Jeremeiah” is likely a typo for Jeremiah.)

In 2023, the top names in the county were Charlotte and Liam.

Source: Top Baby Names of 2024 – Johnston County Register of Deeds

Image: Adapted from Flag of North Carolina (public domain)

Popular baby names in Rhode Island, 2024

Flag of Rhode Island
Flag of Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island likely welcomed more than 9,000* babies last year.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Charlotte and Liam, according to provisional data released in late December, 2024, by the Rhode Island Department of Health’s Center for Vital Records.

Here are Rhode Island’s projected top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Charlotte
  2. Mia
  3. Amelia
  4. Emma
  5. Olivia
  6. Sophia
  7. Ava
  8. Violet
  9. Maeve
  10. Isla

Boy names

  1. Liam
  2. Lucas
  3. Noah
  4. Theodore
  5. Luca
  6. Henry
  7. Oliver
  8. Michael
  9. James
  10. Owen

In the girls’ top 10, Ava, Violet and Maeve — a trio of names with the letter v — replaced Nora, Luna, and Isabella.

And in the boys’ top 10, Oliver and Owen — a pair of o-names — replaced Julian and Benjamin.

Finally, if you’d like to see Rhode Island’s projected rankings for 2023, you can find them in this post.

*The state welcomed 9,271 babies in 2023.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Rhode Island (public domain)

Popular baby names in Mississippi, 2024

Flag of Mississippi
Flag of Mississippi

The state of Mississippi likely welcomed more than 34,000* babies last year.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and William, according to provisional data released in late December, 2024, by the Mississippi State Department of Health’s Office of Vital Records and Public Health Statistics.

Here are Mississippi’s projected top 25+ girl names and top 25+ boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 101 baby girls
  2. Ava, 94
  3. Mary, 92
  4. Amelia, 91
  5. Charlotte and Harper (tie), 82 each
  6. Elizabeth, 80
  7. Emma, 67
  8. Nova, 65
  9. Ivy, 63
  10. Hazel, 61
  11. Ella, Evelyn, and Paisley (3-way tie), 58 each
  12. Caroline, 54
  13. Kinsley, 53
  14. Ellie and Lainey (tie), 52 each
  15. Mia, 51
  16. Eleanor and Isabella (tie), 50 each
  17. Riley, 48
  18. Serenity, 47
  19. Autumn, Layla, Millie, and Naomi (4-way tie), 46 each
  20. Journee, 45
  21. Kehlani, Khloe, and Sophia (3-way tie), 44 each
  22. Avery, Chloe, and Oaklynn (3-way tie), 42 each
  23. Londyn, Scarlett, and Skylar (3-way tie), 41 each
  24. Aria, Brooklyn, Emery, Lucy, and Raelynn (5-way tie), 40 each
  25. Aurora, Josie, Nora, and Willow (4-way tie), 39 each

Boy names

  1. William, 167 baby boys
  2. John, 159
  3. James, 148
  4. Noah, 118
  5. Liam, 106
  6. Elijah, 104
  7. Waylon, 91
  8. Asher, 86
  9. Samuel, 84
  10. Levi and Walker (tie), 80 each
  11. Henry, 79
  12. Mason, 78
  13. Carter, Josiah, and Maverick (3-way tie), 75 each
  14. Grayson, 72
  15. Hudson, 71
  16. Beau, Charles, and Oliver (3-way tie), 67 each
  17. Luke, 65
  18. Kayden, 64
  19. Amir, David, Jackson, and Thomas (4-way tie), 63 each
  20. Cooper, 62
  21. Kingston, Legend, and Michael (3-way tie), 61 each
  22. Wyatt, 59
  23. Aiden and Christopher (tie), 57 each
  24. Silas, 55
  25. Lucas and Nolan (tie), 53 each

In the girls’ top 10, Ivy and Hazel replaced Evelyn.

In the boys’ top 10, Samuel, Levi, and Walker replaced Mason and Grayson.

Finally, if you’d like to see Mississippi’s projected rankings for 2023, you can find them in this post.

*The state welcomed about 34,354 babies in 2023.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Mississippi