Explore the Family Name Michelle

The meaning of Michelle

1. Americanized form of Italian Michele or Micheli or of some other similar (like-sounding) surname. 2. French: from the feminine form of the personal name Michel, an equivalent of Michael. Some characteristic forenames: Italian Angelo, Carlo, Gennaro. French Colette, Odile.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Michelle in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname 'Michelle' experienced a decline between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, the surname ranked 28,326 in popularity but dropped to 31,587 in 2010, marking an 11.51 percent decrease. The number of individuals bearing the name also decreased by 7.81 percent during this period, from 794 in 2000 to 732 in 2010. Consequently, the proportion of people named 'Michelle' per 100k also decreased by 13.79 percent.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#28,326	#31,587	-11.51%
Count	794	732	-7.81%
Proportion per 100k	0.29	0.25	-13.79%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Michelle

Regarding the ethnic identity associated with the surname 'Michelle', Census data from 2000 to 2010 reveals shifts within various groups. Notably, the percentage of individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander more than doubled over the decade, from 1.01 to 2.05 percent. The Hispanic population also saw an increase of 29.92 percent. Conversely, those identifying with two or more races saw a significant reduction from 5.67 to 1.78 percent. White and Black populations saw minor changes, with a 4.59 percent increase among Whites and an 8.19 percent decrease among Blacks. The American Indian and Alaskan Native group saw a 27.51 percent decrease in this period.

	2000	2010	Change
White	52.77%	55.19%	4.59%
Black	27.83%	25.55%	-8.19%
Hispanic	10.83%	14.07%	29.92%
Asian/Pacific Islander	1.01%	2.05%	102.97%
Two or More Races	5.67%	1.78%	-68.61%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	1.89%	1.37%	-27.51%