The Name is Micah

Jun 15, 2011 by A. Beth Brown

What to name the baby?  As parents look for new and different names for their babies, many are finding inspiration in traditional names that have not been used for many years.  One example – Micah.

Micah is an ancient Hebrew name meaning “who is like God.” The Hebrew Bible includes the Book of Micah, based on the teachings of the minor prophet Micah of Moresheth.  The name came to the United States with the early Puritans, but it did not spread in popularity until recent years.  According to the Social Security Administration (SSA) , Micah was ranked as the 108th most popular boy’s name in the United States.  The name is becoming more common, moving up considerably from its ranks of 186 in 2000.  Micah is used as a girl’s name, though rarely, and that practice is losing popularity.  In 2000, Micah was ranked 639 on the SSA list of girls’ names.  By 2010, it had fallen to 847.

I first encountered the name as I suspect many people did, with Micah Rains, a character in the Wonder Woman comic books.  More recently, the television series Heroes featured a character named Micah and a husband to one of the Real Housewives of Orange County shares the name.  There have been athletes, actors, musicians, politicians and even a Confederate general named Micah, but no one that could be called well-known among the general populace.  As the name grows in popularity, it is only a matter of time before we all know someone named Micah.