The Baby Name Wizard

Reader Contributions

Contribute to, or edit, this collection of community wisdom on the name Michelle!

Comments and insights on the name Michelle: | Edit

Slate claims Michelle is Washington's power name for women... but BabyNameWizard.com says that honor goes to Barbara or Diane.
http://www.babynamewizard.com/archives/2008/11/the-power-of-michelle

~~~~~~~~

It's very interesting to see the life cycle of a name. It starts out as a unique, virtually unknown name with roots in history. Then, it gets picked up by a few trendy families. Other families pick up on those, and all of a sudden it's extremely popular! There's some years of that, then it passes out of use, then into middle names. Michelle is one of those names that is now a middle name, in my opinion. I know TONS of middle aged Michelles and a lot of age 20 and down women/girls with Michelle/Michele as their middle name (Alyssa Michele, Jenna Michele, Dominique Michele, Hannah Michelle, Brianna Michelle, Leah Michelle, Elise Michelle, Alexandra Michelle). Another one of these names I'm seeing is Lauren. I know a lot of Laurens in their 20s or so or in their late-mid teens, but I am seeing a lot of new babies with Lauren as a middle name (Talia Lauren, Arabella Lauren, Emma Lauren). A name I see heading into this stage is Olivia. This name is sort of an exception because, right now, it's in the height of its popularity. I see just a few girls with Olivia as a middle name (Jade Olivia, Danielle Olivia), but that's more than I can say for some other names. Sorry for my rambling, I just found that interesting.

----

"Michelle" has become a "modern classic", IMO - not a fleeting trend, but almost unknown before the 60s so that it's not a true classic. I am in my late 20s (as of writing this in 2011), and my name was far from out of style as a kid. There was always at least one other Michelle in the classroom. I notice the following generations had less & less Michelles, so that now, it's neither rare nor a common choice for a baby's first name. In regards to the above entry, yes, Michelle seems more common for a middle name now than a first name when it comes to new babies, but in reality, it is still just below the top 100 names (around 103 last I checked).

Personal experiences with the name Michelle: | Edit

I was born in 1985 and named Michelle after my father (Michael). I was lucky: I was only Michelle in my grade throughout my educational experience. In elementary school, the teachers and administration always sang "Michelle (Ma Belle)" to/at me. I found this incredibly embarrassing as I was pretty shy and these impromptu acapella sessions would happen in front of a room full of my peers. I also didn't know what they were singing until I was in 9th grade and I finally heard the song. I have grown to love my name and the song and the singing it sometimes prompts.

mom

My cousin's name is Allison Michelle. She usually goes by Allie, but she went through this phase where she wanted to go by Michelle because the Olsen twins played Michelle Tanner on Full house. Michelle turned to Michy (Mee-she), then Miley (?), and finally Allichelle, until she eventually got over it and went by Allie again.

My sisters name is Michelle. And ever since I was a little girl and couldn't pronounce her name correctly we have been calling her Mimi (Mee-Mee). Or Mich (Meesh)

My mother's name is Ella and my father's name is Michael, they liked the name Michelle since it kinds of combines their 2 names together.So they named me Michelle.

Michelle Danielle, and my cousin has Michelle as her middle name. I really like the name except my brother has the same name right down to the middle name, except the manly version, of course. Please DON'T EVER name a younger sibling the femine version of their older sibling's name! The name was unique, and up until I was in my teens I hadn't heard of another Michelle and now it's very popular, and more common as a middle.
My family pet name was Chell because my brother had a hard time saying my full name.

Nicknames for Michelle: | Edit

Mitchie, Mickie, Mish, Mishy, Shell, Shelly, Shelley, Chelle, Mickey, Mich, Michy, Meko, Mimi, Elle, Ella, Melly.

Meanings and history of the name Michelle: | Edit

The meaning to the name Michelle is actually a question not a word. Michelle means "Who is like God?"

The Origin of the name is French.

Alternate spellings include: Mechelle, Michele, and Mechele

Famous real-life people named Michelle: | Edit

Michelle Obama, First Lady and wife of Barack Obama
Michelle Williams, actress (Dawson's Creek, Brokeback Mountain)
Michelle Pfeiffer, actress
Michele Lee, actress
Michelle Yeoh, actress
Michelle Trachtenberg, actress
Michelle Phillips, actress, singer, and member of The Mamas and The Papas
Michelle Monaghan, actress
Michelle Rodriguez, actress
Michelle Ryan, actress
Michelle Leslie, model
Michelle Kwan, figure skater
Michelle Duggar, reality TV star (TLC's "18 Kids and Counting")
Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile
Michelle Branch, singer
Michelle Tanner, character on "Full House"
Michelle Smith, Olympic Swimmer

Michelle in song, story & screen: | Edit

"Michelle" by the Beatles.
"My Michelle" by Guns'n'Roses
Michelle Tanner, in the show "Full House"