Michael
Michael or
Micha'el is a
given name that comes from
Hebrew (
מִיכָאֵל / מיכאל "who is like God?" or "likened unto God", see
List of names referring to El;
Arabic ميخائيل ,
Standard Hebrew Miḫaʾel,
Latin Michael,
Michaèl or
Míchaël,
Tiberian Hebrew Mîḵāʾ"l;
Septuagint Greek Μιχαηλ,
Mikha"l.
Portuguese or
Spanish Miguel) For translations of the name Michael into other languages, see the
Michael entry in
Wiktionary.
Michael in Hebrew and Aramaic means: who is like God?, Michael->"Mi[n] Cha el"
Michael is a popular male name in nearly all European countries, as well as many former colonies of European countries, particularly the
United States,
Canada,
Australia,
New Zealand, and many Caribbean and African countries, as well as
Israel. Miguel is a popular name in most
Latin American countries. The name has been particularly popular in
Orthodox Christian countries, and was borne by several rulers of the
Byzantine and
Russian empires. In
English it is sometimes shortened to
Mike or
Mick. In the
United States, Michael has been one of the top three baby names for boys for the past 50 years.
The name first appears in the
Bible,
Numbers 13 verse 13, where Sethur the son of Michael is one of twelve spies sent into the Land of
Canaan.
The
Archangel Michael, referred to later in the Bible (
Daniel 12 verse 1), is considered a
saint by the
Roman Catholic Church. September 29 is the
feast day of the three archangels,
Saints Michael,
Gabriel and
Raphael.
The female form of Michael is
Michelle or
Michaela, though there are females with the name of Michael, such as
Michael Learned.
Surnames that come from Michael include
Michaels,
Michaelson,
Mitchell,
Micallef and
Carmichael.
"Mike", "Mick", "Mikey", "Mic", and "Mickey" are short forms of, or nick-names for,
Michael as a given name. The name is used extensively throughout Ireland.
Maicol is another spelling of " Michael". It is a name given in
Brazil (where it is more usual to write it as Maicon),
Italy and sometimes other Latin countries.
Many Irish surnames begin with "Mc" or "Mick", as in McDowell, or McShane, from which people from Ireland often get the nickname "Mick". (Mc usually means "son of". For instance the surname MacDonnell literally means son of Donnell.) Many Irish people are also named after the Irish leader
Michael Collins, making Michael (Mick) a very common name.
It is sometimes used, usually with a lower-case "m", as an offensive slang term in
British English and
American English for an
Irish person or a
Roman Catholic. This is unrelated to the name Michael, however.
The term "mick" is also used as slang in the phrase
taking the mickey or
take the mick meaning to tease.
See also: List of people by name: Mic for more names.*
Michael I (
811-
813)
*
Michael II (
820-
829)
*
Michael III (
842-
867)
*
Michael IV the Paphlagonian (
1034-
1041)
*
Michael V (
1041-
1042)
*
Michael VI (
1056-
1057)
*
Michael VII (
1067-
1078)
*
Michael VIII Palaeologus (
1259-
1282)
*
Mikhail of Vladimir (
1174 -
1176)
*
Mikhail Yaroslavich (
1304 -
1318)
*
Michael I (
1613-
1645)
*
Michael II (
1917)
*
Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki*
Miguel of Portugal (often translated as Michael of Portugal)
*
Michael I of Romania*
Prince Michael of Kent *
Michael (1924 film).
*
1996 movie starring
John Travolta*
Michael (Franz Ferdinand song), a song by
Franz Ferdinand (band) 
