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

Micha Micah (; ) is a given name. Micah is the name of several people in the Hebrew Bible ( Old Testament), and means "Who is like God?" The name is sometimes found with theophoric extensions. Suffix theophory in '' Yah'' and in ''Yahweh'' results in ...

Mick Mick is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Michael (given name), Michael. Because of its popularity in Ireland, it is often used in England as a List of ethnic slurs, derogatory term for an Irish people, Irish person or a ...

, Mickey, Micki,

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 documenta ...

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 Phili ...

, Miki,

Mikki Mikki is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Mikki Moore (born 1975), American professional basketball player * Mikki Osei Berko (born 1973), Ghanaian-born actor * Mikki Padilla (born 1974), American actress, model and writer * Mik ...

, 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 Mitt may refer to: *Mitten, a garment covering the whole hand *Baseball mitt, a leather glove worn by baseball players on defense *Mitt (name), a surname and given name *William Mitten (1819–1906), English authority on bryophytes and chemist, wh ...

, Micci , related names = Machiel, Maicon or Maycon,

Michaela Michaela (Hebrew מיכאלה) is a female given name. It is a female form of the Hebrew name Michael (מִיכָאֵל), which means "Who is like God". As of 2008, it was 357th in rank for newborn girls in the United States, and 325th in England ...

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

, Michal,

Michał Michał () is a Polish and Sorbian form of Michael and may refer to: * Michał Bajor (born 1957), Polish actor and musician * Michał Chylinski (born 1986), Polish basketball player * Michał Drzymała (1857–1937), Polish rebel * Michał Heller ( ...

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 Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...

, Michele,

Michelle Michelle may refer to: People * Michelle (name), a given name and surname, the feminine form of Michael * Michelle Courtens, Dutch singer, performing as "Michelle" * Michelle (German singer) * Michelle (Scottish singer) (born 1980), Scottis ...

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 composer ...

, 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 * M ...

, 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 *Miha ...

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. ...

, Mihajlo,

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

, 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 Transylv ...

, 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 Järveo ...

Mihovil Mihovil is a Croatian given name. It is a variant of Michael. It may refer to *Mihovil Logar (1902–1998), Serbian composer * Mihovil Pavlek Miškina (1887–1942), Croatian writer and politician *Mihovil Nakić (born 1955), Croatian basketball pla ...

Miika Miika is a Finnish male given name. Famous people with the name include: * Miika Elomo (born 1977), Finnish ice hockey player * Miika Koppinen (born 1978), Finnish football defender * Miika Tenkula (1974–2009), Finnish heavy metal musician * Mii ...

, Mikael, Mikail, Mikal, Mikel,

Miķelis Miķelis is a Latvian male given name. It is also Latvian name of archangel Michael, therefore the celebration of autumn equinox is called Miķeļi in Latvian and Miķelis is named as protector of horses and good harvest, likely taking over functi ...

, 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 Mikko is a Finnish masculine given name and equivalent of the English name Michael, having been borrowed into the Finnish language. The given name Mikko is shared by the following notable people: * Mikko Alatalo, Finnish musician and politician * ...

Mishael Mishael ( he, מישאל, "who is like God") or Misael may refer to: Biblical figures *Mishael (son of Uzziel), cousin of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam *Original Hebrew name of Meshach People Misael *Misael (footballer, born 1987), full name Misael Sil ...

Misho Mikayel Abrahamyan ( hy, Միքայել Աբրահամյան, born December 24, 1984), known professionally as Misho ( hy, Միշո), is an Armenian rapper and actor, best known as the pioneer of hip-hop music in Armenia. Early life Misho was bo ...

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 fa ...

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 deit ...

is a rhetorical question – "Who slike

he Hebrew God He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

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, the former bassist for the Bangles. 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 gu ...

, McMichael, Michaels,

Micallef Micallef is a Maltese surname. It has been recorded in Malta since ancient times, and its origins probably lie in the name Micali, a variant of Michael (in Hebrew, Michael means "Who is like God"). However, another possible derivation for the surn ...

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, 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 Mikkelsen is a Danish-Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Mikkel" (equivalent of Michael). People with the name Mikkelsen include: People *Andreas Mikkelsen - Norwegian rally driver * Bård Mikkelsen - Norwegian businessperson *Brian Mik ...

Michalski Michalski (; feminine Michalska; plural Michalscy) is a Polish surname. It may refer to: * Adam Michalski (born 1988), Polish volleyball player * Aenne Michalsky (1908–1986), Austrian operatic soprano * Anna Jagaciak-Michalska (born 1990), Polis ...

Mykhaylenko Mykhaylenko or Mykhailenko ( uk, Михайленко) is a Ukrainian last name derived from the Ukrainian first name Mykhailo or Mykhaylo. Russian spelling: Mikhailenko or Mikhaylenko. It may refer to: * Dmitry Mikhaylenko (footballer, born 19 ...

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"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

in the

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 com ...

, 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 (a ...

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 The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent o ...

, 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 via ...

. For the Roman Catholic Church, 29 September is the

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

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, ገብር� ...

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. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

. For the Orthodox Church, 8 November is the

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 include ...

s, while the Monday of each liturgical week likewise corresponds to the "Bodiless Powers." In the

Coptic Orthodox Church The Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, translit=Ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit=the Egyptian Orthodox Church; ar, الكنيسة القبطي� ...

, 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 sky ...

and 12 Paoni, with lesser feast days on the 12th day of each month of the

Coptic calendar The Coptic calendar, also called the Alexandrian calendar, is a liturgical calendar used by the Coptic Orthodox Church and also used by the farming populace in Egypt. It was used for fiscal purposes in Egypt until the adoption of the Gregoria ...

Islam

According to Islam, Michael (Mika'el) is an archangel who brings down rain to the earth by the decree of

Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...

. 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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. 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 List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

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 = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

(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 This is a list of notable people with the given name Mikhail: People with name "Mikhail" * Mikhail, Prince of Abkhazia, the head of state of the Principality of Abkhazia * Mikhail of Vladimir, second and fourth Prince of Vladimir * Mikhail Alexan ...

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