/ (Mikha'el) , nickname = Mic, Mich, Micha,

Mick Mick is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Michael. Because of its popularity in Ireland, it is often used in England as a derogatory term for an Irish person or a person of Irish descent. In Australia the meaning broade ...

Mickey Mickey is a given name and nickname, almost always masculine and often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name or nickname Men * Mickey Andrews (bor ...

Micki Micki is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Micki DuPont (born 1980), professional ice hockey player * Micki Free, professional musician * Micki Grant (born 1941), American singer, actress, writer and composer * Addie "Micki" Ha ...

Mickie Micky or Mickie can be a given name, but it is most often a nickname for Michael or non-Anglo Saxon equivalents, such as "Mikhail". People with the name include: Men * Micky Adams (born 1961), English football manager and former player * Micky Ari ...

Mike Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and docume ...

Mikey Mikey is a masculine given name, often a diminutive form (hypocorism) of Michael. It may also refer to: People * Mikey Ambrose (born 1993), American Major League Soccer player * Mikey Arroyo (born 1969), Filipino actor and politician, son of Phil ...

, Miki,

Mikki Mikki is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Mikki Moore Clinton Renard "Mikki" Moore (pronounced "MY-key"; born November 4, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Early life and college Born in Orangeburg, ...

, Mico, Miko, Mikha,

Misha Misha (russian: Миша), also known as Mishka (russian: Мишка) or The Olympic Mishka (russian: Олимпийский Мишка), is the name of the Russian Bear mascot of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games (the XXII Summer Olympics). He wa ...

, Mischa, Mitch, Mitt, Micci , related names =

Machiel Machiel is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Machiel is situated on the D938 road, some north of Abbeville, in the forest of Crécy. Population Monument aux morts The Machiel monument aux m ...

, Maicon or Maycon, Michaela, Michelangelo, Michal, Michał,

Micheal Micheal is a masculine given name. It is sometimes an anglicized form of the Irish names Micheál, Mícheál and Michéal; or the Scottish Gaelic name Mìcheal. It is also a spelling variant of the common masculine given name '' Michael'', and is ...

, Mícheál, Michel,

Michele Michele (), is an Italian male given name, akin to the English male name Michael. Michele (pronounced ), is also an English female given name that is derived from the French Michèle. It is a variant spelling of the more common (and identically ...

, Michelle,

Michiel Michiel is a Dutch masculine given name equivalent to Michael and a Venetian surname. Given name * Michiel Andrieszoon (died 1684), Dutch pirate * Michiel Bartman (born 1967), Dutch rower * Michiel Borstlap (born 1966), Dutch pianist and compo ...

, Miguel,

Mihael Mihael is a masculine given name with the same etymology as Michael. Notable people with the name include: * Mihael Ambrož (1808–1864), Slovenian politician * Mihael Brejc (born 1947), Slovenian politician, Member of the European Parliament * ...

, Miha,

Mihai Mihai () is a Romanian given name for males or a surname. It is equivalent to the English name Michael. A variant of the name is Mihail. Its female form is Mihaela. As a given name * Mihai I of Romania (1921–2017), King of Romania until 1947 *Mih ...

Mihailo Mihailo ( sr-cyr, Михаило) or Mihajlo () is a Serbian masculine given name, a variant of the Hebrew name ''Michael''. Common as a given name among Serbs, it is an uncommon surname. It may refer to: * Mihailo Vojislavljević (fl. 1050–d. 1 ...

Mihajlo Mihajlo ( sr-cyr, Михајло) is the Serbian variant of the name ''Michael'', predominantly borne by ethnic Serbs. It is also spelled Mihailo (Михаило) and Mijailo (Мијаило). ;Science *Mihajlo Pupin, Serbian physicist * Mihaj ...

Mihalis Mihalis is a Greek given name, equivalent to the English form Michael. It may refer to: People: * Mihalis Filopoulos (1985–2007), Greek football fan who was murdered in 2007 *Mihalis Hatzigiannis (born 1979), Greek-Cypriot singer and songwriter ...

, Mikhalis,

Mihály Mihály () is a Hungarian masculine given name, It is a cognate of the English Michael and may refer to: * Mihály András (1917–1993), Hungarian cellist, composer, and academic teacher * Mihály Apafi (1632–1690), Hungarian Prince of Transyl ...

, Mihangel,

Mihkel Mihkel is an Estonian masculine given name, a version of Michael. People named Mihkel include: * Mihkel Ainsalu (born 1996), footballer *Mihkel Aksalu (born 1984), football goalkeeper *Mikk-Mihkel Arro (born 1984), decathlete *Mihkel Järveoja ...

, Mihovil, Miika, Mikael, Mikail, Mikal,

Mikel Mikel is the Basque adaptation of the given name Michael. Notable people with the name include: Footballers * Mikel Alonso (born 1980), Spanish Basque footballer and older brother of retired Spanish international Xabi Alonso * Mikel Álvaro ...

, Miķelis, Mikhail or Mihail (Михаил), Mihails, Maikls,

Mikkel Mikkel is a Danish and Norwegian masculine given name. It may refer to: *Mikkel Ødelien (1893–1984), Norwegian soil researcher * Mikkel Aaland (born 1952), award-winning American photographer * Mikkel Andersen (disambiguation) *Mikkel Bødker ( ...

, Mikko,

Mishael, Misho,

Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territo ...

, Mykael, Michol, Michole , footnotes = Michael is a usually masculine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a ...

derived from the Hebrew phrase ''mī kāʼēl'', 'Who slike-El', in

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

: ܡܝܟܐܝܠ (''Mīkhāʼēl'' ). The

theophoric name A theophoric name (from Greek: , ''theophoros'', literally "bearing or carrying a god") embeds the word equivalent of 'god' or God's name in a person's name, reflecting something about the character of the person so named in relation to that dei ...

is a rhetorical question – "Who slike he Hebrew God El?", whose answer is "there is none like El", or "there is none as famous and powerful as God." This question is known in Latin as

Quis ut Deus? ' (or '), a Latin sentence meaning "Who slike God?", is a literal translation of the name Michael ( he, מִיכָאֵל, transliterated ''Micha'el'' or ''Mîkhā'ēl''). The sentence ' is particularly associated with Archangel Michael. In art ...

. Although sometimes considered erroneous, an alternative spelling of the name is

. While Michael is most often a masculine name, it is also given to women, such as the actresses

Michael Michele Michael Michele Williams (born August 30, 1966) is an American actress and fashion designer. She began her career on stage before appearing opposite Wesley Snipes in the 1991 film ''New Jack City''. In the 1990s, Michele had leading roles in tw ...

and

Michael Learned Michael Learned (born April 9, 1939) is a distinguished American actor, known for her role as Olivia Walton in the long-running CBS drama series ''The Waltons'' (1972–1981). She has won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in ...

, and

Michael Steele Michael Stephen Steele (born October 19, 1958) is an American political commentator, attorney, and Republican Party politician. Steele served as the seventh lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007; he was the first African-American ...

, the former bassist for

the Bangles The Bangles are an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1981. The band recorded several singles that reached the U.S. top 10 during the 1980s, including " Manic Monday" (1986), " Walk Like an Egyptian" (1986), "Hazy Shad ...

. Patronymic surnames that come from Michael include Carmichael,

DiMichele DiMichele (or Di Michele in its original form) is a patronymic surname of Italian origin meaning "of Michele" (equivalent of Michael). People with the surname include: People *Adam DiMichele (b. 1985), U.S. former football player *Alicia DiMichele ...

MacMichael MacMichael is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * David MacMichael, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analyst * Harold MacMichael (1882–1969), British colonial administrator * Kevin MacMichael (1951–2002), Canadian g ...

, McMichael,

Michaels Michaels Stores, Inc., more commonly known as Michaels, is a privately held chain of 1,252 American and Canadian arts and crafts stores, as of January 2021. It is one of North America's largest providers of arts, crafts, framing, floral and wall ...

, Micallef,

Michaelson Michaelson is an English patronymic surname meaning "son of Michael". There are varied English and Scandinavian spellings. It is rare as a given name. Notable people with the surname include: * Ben Michaelson (born 1981), American swimmer * Ing ...

Michiels Michiels is a Dutch-language patronymic surname ("son of Michiel"). It may refer to: * Alexis Michiels (1883–1976), French cyclist * Andreas Victor Michiels (1797-1849), Dutch officer in the Dutch East Indies * Baudouin Michiels (born 1941), Bel ...

, Michalka,

Michels Michels is a surname, derived from Michaels, which in turn is derived from the given name Michael. Notable people with the surname include: * Birgit Michels (born 1984), German badminton player * David Michels, British businessman *Jan Michels, Dut ...

Mikeladze Mikeladze ( ka, მიქელაძე) was a Georgian noble family, known from at least the 14th century. The senior, and the princely, line of the Mikeladze flourished in Imereti (western Georgia), while a collateral branch was later establish ...

, Mikhaylov, Mikkelsen,

, Michalski, Mykhaylenko and

Mikaelyan Mikaelyan, Mikayelyan or Mikaelian (Armenian: Միքայելյան) is an Armenian surname meaning "son of Mikael" (Michael). It may refer to: *Aleksander Mikaelyan (born 1990), Armenian wrestler *Arman Mikaelyan (born 1996), Armenian chess grandmas ...

Religion

Judaism

The name first appears in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Book of Numbers The book of Numbers (from Greek Ἀριθμοί, ''Arithmoi''; he, בְּמִדְבַּר, ''Bəmīḏbar'', "In the desert f) is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and c ...

, where Sethur the son of Michael is one of 12 spies sent into the Land of

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

is the name of an

archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...

in the

Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology ...

Christianity

The archangel Michael is venerated in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, the Oriental Orthodox Church, and the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

. For the Roman Catholic Church, 29 September is the feast day of the three archangels: Michael,

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions ( Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ ...

and

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...

. For the Orthodox Church, 8 November is the feast day commemorating the archangels Michael and Gabriel, as well as the whole host of

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

s, while the Monday of each liturgical week likewise corresponds to the "Bodiless Powers." In the Coptic Orthodox Church, his main feast days are 12

Hathor Hathor ( egy, ḥwt-ḥr, lit=House of Horus, grc, Ἁθώρ , cop, ϩⲁⲑⲱⲣ, Meroitic: ) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sk ...

and 12

Paoni Paoni ( cop, Ⲡⲁⲱⲛⲓ, ''Paōni''), also known as Payni ( grc-gre, Παϋνί, ''Paüní'') and Ba'unah. ( ar, بؤونه, ''Ba'una''), is the tenth month of the ancient Egyptian and Coptic calendars. It lasts between June 8 and July 7 of ...

, with lesser feast days on the 12th day of each month of the Coptic calendar.

Islam

According to Islam, Michael (Mika'el) is an archangel who brings down rain to the earth by the decree of Allah. He was created from light and the one entrusted with the sustenance of creatures, and is also one of the most prominent angels. As the Angel of Mercy, he asks Allah to forgive people’s sins.

Popularity

Michael (and its variants) is one of the most common given names for men in the world. In the United States, Michael was the most popular name of the 20th century, ranking No. 1 from 1954 to 1998 (with the exception of 1960, when it was second to

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

). It was among the top three most popular names for each year since 1953, only falling out of the top five in 2011 for the first time since 1949. In 2014, Michael was the 20th most popular name in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, 27th in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and 42nd in Australia. In

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

, Michael ranked 53rd in 2011 and 2012. Michael ranked as the eighth most popular name for boys in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 2013. Variants of Michael rank among the most popular masculine names in multiple countries. It was the third most popular in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

from 2010 – March 2015 (as Mikael), seventh in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

in 2009 (as Mikhail), 14th in Spain in 2012 (as Miguel), and 15th in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

(as Mikkel).

People named Michael

List of people with given name Michael This is a list of people and characters with the given name Michael. People * Michael of Russia, first tsar of Russia of the House of Romanov * Michael I of Portugal, King of Portugal * Michael I of Romania, last King of Romania A * Michael Abb ...

* List of people with given name Mikhail

References

{{Authority control English-language unisex given names Unisex given names Hebrew-language names English unisex given names German masculine given names Theophoric names Modern names of Hebrew origin