You likely know a Michelle. Maybe you are a Michelle. Michelle came out of nowhere, peaked in the 1970s (which is why you probably knew several of them if you were born during that decade), and then it dropped off. Could its popularity have come from Paul McCartney crooning about his belle? Possibly. If so, Beatles fans have become scarce, as the name has dropped to the ranking of 103 in 2008.
There are several celebrities named Michelle, but it's definitely not a name that celebs name their own kids. And I don't think either of my kids knows a Michelle, except for one in Sasha's daycare class — and that's her teacher.
If you grew up with a few Michelles in your class, you likely also knew a couple of Jessicas.
Jessica follows the same trajectory, albeit a decade ahead of Michelle. Jessica did what Michelle could not, however, hitting #1 in both the 1980s and 1990s, before dropping to #18 in 2003.
Both Michelle and Jessica serve as middle names that form an unhyphenated compound name, as in the case of the two well-known Sarahs, Sarah Jessica Parker (who, I've read, insists on being called "Sarah Jessica" and not just "Sarah," thank you very much) and Sarah Michelle Gellar. I wonder "Michelle Jessica" or "Jessica Michelle" ever took off.
I can't say I'm surprised that Jessica was more popular. That double-s ssounds
sso ssexy. (Though I'm sure parents-to-be aren't considering the sexiness factor when they name their kids.) After all, Roger Rabbit's wife was Jessica Rabbit, not Michelle Rabbit.
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