Michaela vs Michaelene
American parents have registered 53,702 Michaelas since 1880, against 1,429 Michaelenes. Michaela is still ahead, with 323 babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Michaela Michaelene
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 95 years in which either name was published, Michaela for 84 years and Michaelene for 11 years. The lead changed hands 8 times.
- 1921–1933 Michaela ahead
- 1934 Michaelene ahead
- 1935–1937 Michaela ahead
- 1938–1940 Michaelene ahead
- 1941–1942 Michaela ahead
- 1943–1944 Michaelene ahead
- 1945 Michaela ahead
- 1946–1950 Michaelene ahead
- 1951–2025 Michaela ahead
Side by side
| Michaela | Michaelene | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 53,702 | 1,429 |
| Most in one year | 3,405 | 69 |
| Babies in 2025 | 323 | under 5 |
| Estimated living today | 52,000 | 1,100 |
| Median age today | 27 | 66 |
| Peak year | 1997 | 1949 |
| Best rank | 100th girls | 1,077th girls |
| Rank in 2025 | 841st | unranked |
| First recorded | 1921 | 1933 |
| Girls / boys | 53,633 / 69 | 1,429 / 0 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Michaelenes alive today are over 66; half the Michaelas are over 27. That is 39 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Michaela Rhode Island (4.1×), Nebraska (3.3×), Massachusetts (1.8×)
- Michaelene Pennsylvania (8.3×), Illinois (7.0×), Michigan (1.4×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Michaela and Michaelene.