Michel

Did you know?

A few things about Michel you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Michel

Michel Houellebecq

French writer

Choose Michel and your child shares a first name with Michel Houellebecq, a French writer. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Michel, like who?” Michel Houellebecq's Wikipedia article is available in 83 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Michel Houellebecq on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Fronteiras do Pensamento, CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 178,571 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Michel, 9 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Michel would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryMichel has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Michels, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1966, when it ranked #1,119. Today it's #10,107, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowMichel was 5.2× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 34,247 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 178,571.
• 🚀TrendMichel has climbed 2,035 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #10,107. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• ⚖️Boy or girlMichel is given to both boys and girls: 71% of the 31 babies named Michel in 2025 were boys. That makes it one of the names that truly works for either.
• 💬MeaningIn French, Michel means “who is like God”.

About the name Michel

Michel is a girl name of French origin meaning “who is like God”. It has 6 letters and 2 syllables, starting with M and ending in “-hel”. US birth records list Michel for girls from 1939 to 2025, in 84 of those 87 years. Its best year was 1966, when it ranked #1,119 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #10,107, with 9 babies.

Origin:French names