Michaela
Michaela was the 843rd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 323 babies. Its best year was 1997, when it ranked 100th with 3,398 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 347 places. More babies were named Michaela in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Meaning who is like God? (feminine of Michael) · Hebrew, Latin
Say it mih-KAY-luh /mɪˈkeɪlə/
- Rank in 2025
- #843 girls, down 197 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 323girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19973,398 babies
- Total since 1880
- 53,702babies recorded
What does the name Michaela mean?
Michaela is a feminine form of Michael. DMNES explains Michael as the Hebrew question "Who is like God?" (mi, who; kə, like; El, God) and records Michaela as its feminine. Michael is one of the archangels. Wiktionary says English Michaela first appeared as an anglicization of Portuguese and Spanish Micaela, and that German took the feminine into general use in the 20th century. US records show it from the 1920s.
מִיכָאֵל (Biblical Hebrew, “Who is like God?”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Michael, Micaela, Mikayla, Michelle, Kayla.
See also: Hebrew names, names that mean God.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Michaela', DMNES (Durham University)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Michael', DMNES (Durham University)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Michaela' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Nicknames for Michaela
The usual nicknames for Michaela are Kayla, Mickey and Mick. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Michaela in the last five years, 231 were named Kayla, against 736 twenty years earlier. Mickey is also gaining on the full name.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kayla · also for Makayla, Mikayla | Modern | #364 | 5,075 |
| Mickey · also for Michael | Traditional | #8,189 | 68 |
| Mick · also for Michael | Modern | — | — |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Michaelas go by each one.
Michaela popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 69 since 1966.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #843 | 323 |
| 2020 | #646 | 449 |
| 2010 | #391 | 814 |
| 2000 | #154 | 2,172 |
| 1990 | #311 | 878 |
| 1980 | #665 | 267 |
| 1970 | #984 | 128 |
| 1960 | #1,535 | 53 |
| 1950 | #1,544 | 37 |
| 1940 | #2,382 | 13 |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Michaela, counting every spelling?
Michaela is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #760 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #843 for Michaela on its own. Together these spellings went to 362 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michaela | 323 | #843 | 2,200 |
| Michaella | 34 | #4,241 | 132 |
| Mikhaila | — | — | 44 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Michaela?
323 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Michaela (0.09 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Michaela born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 26 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Michaela.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Michaela?
About 52,400 people born in the US named Michaela are alive today, with a median age of 28; half are between 21 and 32. That makes Michaela mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Michaela by state
How common Michaela was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in New Jersey (2.5×), Connecticut (2.4×), New York (2.3×), Massachusetts (2.0×), Maryland (2.0×). In 17 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Michaela: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Michaela, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Michaela · Sibling names for Michaela
Questions about the name Michaela
What does Michaela mean?
Michaela means “who is like God? (feminine of Michael)” (Hebrew, Latin origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Michaela?
Michaela was the 843rd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 323 babies. Its best year was 1997, when it ranked 100th with 3,398 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 347 places. More babies were named Michaela in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Is Michaela a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Michaela in the US.
Where is Michaela most popular?
In 2021–2025, Michaela was most common in New Jersey (0.69 per 1,000 girls), followed by Connecticut and New York.