The Michel surname
In the 2000 U.S. Census, 21,487 people carried this name — #1,539 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 12,500 people counted.
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In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 40,575 people named Michel.
1,030 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 107 départements, most often Paris.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
6,461 people named Michel live in Switzerland.
They live in all 26 of Switzerland’s cantons, most of all in Bern.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 4,826 people named Michel live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Hainaut.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
537 people named Michel have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 683 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 15 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Silesian.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In print
Michel in American newspapers,
1847–1921.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 153,710 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Michel,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Georges Michel 1763–1843 · painter -
Francisque Xavier Michel 1809–1887 · historian -
Marc Michel 1812–1868 · actor -
François Émile Michel 1828–1909 · visual artist -
Carl Michel 1843–1930 · actor
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 162 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Michel.
- Michas 172 · U.S. census
- Michau 222 · U.S. census
- Michaud 14,408 · U.S. census
- Michaux 623 · U.S. census
- Miche 109 · U.S. census
- Micheau 382 · U.S. census
- Michelena 324 · U.S. census
- Michelet 146 · U.S. census
- Micheletti 842 · U.S. census
- Micheletto 135 · U.S. census
- Micheli 874 · U.S. census
- Michelin 477 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Michel is.
A volume says what happened to it.
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