Michels surname: U.S. census count, rank and records | FamilyCrests

The Michels surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,225 people carried this name — #4,875 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 40,800 people counted. That is up 5% from 6,901 in 2000.

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In Belgium’s population register

At least 791 people named Michels 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 East Flanders.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

East Flanders 276
Liège 174
West Flanders 115
Antwerp 109
Limburg 93
Luxembourg Province 7
Walloon Brabant 6
Namur 6

Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 394 people named Michels.

59 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 25 départements, most often Moselle.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born

Born outside France 59
Moselle 148
Paris 69
Bas-Rhin 28
Meurthe-et-Moselle 16
Pas-de-Calais 10
Nord 8
Eure 6
Meuse 6

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

130 people named Michels live in Switzerland.

They live in 12 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 44
Graubünden 12
Bern 11
St. Gallen 11
Geneva 9
Ticino 8
Aargau 8
Lucerne 8

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 107 people named Michels live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Misiones.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Misiones 86
Buenos Aires Province 21

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In the Nordic population registers

41 people named Michels is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 41

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In print

Michels in American newspapers,
1911–1914.

Newspaper page from Die Eureka Post carrying the name Michels
Die Eureka Post 1911-08-10
Newspaper page from The Mitchell Capital carrying the name Michels
The Mitchell Capital 1914-12-03
Newspaper page from The Citizen carrying the name Michels
The Citizen 1913-01-24

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 130,829 pages in all carry the name.

Who carried it

People named Michels,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Johann Heinrich Michels
    Johann Heinrich Michels 1763–1823 · politician
  • Gustav Michels
    Gustav Michels 1836–1909 · politician
  • Heinrich Michels d. 1918
  • Friedrich Michels 1769–1851 · author
  • Michiel Michels 1792–1855 · entrepreneur
  • Michiel Michels 1792–1855 · entrepreneur

Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Michels.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Michels is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See what a volume holds
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