Angelic yet fiery Michael is a solid classic
in the sweet spot between well known and not too popular.
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Origin: |
Michael is the Anglicised form of the Hebrew name Mikael (מִיכָאֵל), derived from mi "who" ki a conjunction, and el "God." The name translates as "Who is like God?" -- a rhetorical question intended to mean that no one is like God. It takes a similar form to ancient Assyrian names such as Mannu-kî-Rammân "Who is like Rammân?" and Mannu-kî-ilu-rabu "Who is like the great God?" In the Abrahamic religions, Michael is one of the three archangels. He is referred to in the Old Testament as a "prince of the first rank" who "stands up for the children of your people." He has therefore been regarded by Jews as "the Prince of Israel." In the New Testament Michael is the leader of the heavenly host who defeated Satan. He is mentioned once in the Qu'ran, but also the Hadith describes how Michael (Mikal) assisted Muhammad in fulfilling his spiritual mission. Christians regard the archangel as Saint Michael, the patron saint of soldiers, grocers, mariners, firefighters, paramedics, police and sickness. Given his prominence, it is no surprise that St Michael's is one of the most common church dedications in Europe. |
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Usage: |
As well as the archangel, Micheal was borne by ten biblical characters, demonstrating the name's early use. Thanks to the popularity of the saint, it was also borne by no fewer than nine Byzantine Emperors. Michael came into use in Britain in the 12th century, via the French Michel. Michael was the learned form, even from an early date, but the most common pronunciation was more phonetic -- MICH-əl -- closer to the French pronunciation of Michel. This led to the surnames Mitchel, Mitchell, Michell, Mitchelson, Mitchison and Mitchelman. In Orkney, St Michael is still pronounced as St Mitchell today. In his survey of 1000 names from ten counties 1377-81, Redmonds ranks Michael at #26, categorising it as "infrequent." Though it was not extremely popular, the name did maintain a steady regular usage across the centuries. The long i pronunciation was a later introduction, taking over by the 16th century. The Cursor Mundi, written in the early 14th century uses the spelling "Seynt Myghell." Evidence suggest that this form was still using a short i at first, as attested by the surnames Mighell, Miggel and Miggle. However, it looks like the pronunciation of this spelling changed by the 16th century. Mighell became Myhill, then Mihel, Miall, Myall and Miel. There are examples of Michaelmas being written as Mighelmass and Mielmasse. In his poem Hudibras (1674-1678), Samuel Butler writes, "At Michael's term had many trial, The 16th century saw continued regular use of the name, as we can see from Smith Bannister's rank of top 50 names from 1538 to 1670 in England: Similarly, Leslie Dunkling ranks Michael as #26 in England and Wales in 1700 and still a very consistent #27 in 1800. From The Surname Atlas. Click to enlarge.
Data from the 1881 census put Michael as the 82nd most frequent name (male and female) in the UK and also shows that Michael was most popular in Northern England and Scotland during the 19th century. It ranked #31 in 1860, #35 in 1870, #44 in 1880, #56 in 1890 and #71 in 1900 in England and Wales. Over the course of the 20th century, Michael ranked consistently within the top 50 every decade. It was #46, #39 and #40 from 1904 to 1924 and saw a significant jump to #7 in 1934. From there it stayed in the top 10 for the following five decades. In Scotland Michael was very consistent: #29 in 1900, #12 in 1950, and #14 in 1975. This longstanding popularity has put Michael as a firm classic. It has also been fortunate enough to survive contemporary trends and "stay cool." Leslie Dunklings quotes two British surveys of "sexy" names: one in 1975 which listed Michael as one of ten names girls would most like to go on a blind date with, and one ten years later from the Daily Mirror which saw Michael voted as the sexiest male name. Click to enlarge
In 1996, Michael ranked #22 in England and Wales and #11 in Scotland. It has since declined gradually in use in all three countries, now ranking just below the top 50. In 2013, Michael ranked #53 in England and Wales. It was #53 also in Scotland in 2014. In Northern Ireland, Michael has maintained more popularity, having moved steadily from #7 in 1997 to #20 in 2014. |
| Famous Bearers: |
History: * 9 saints and 17 blessed.
* 9 Byzantine Emperors. * Michael Scot (c.1175–c.1234), medieval scholar. * Michael the Brave (d. 1601), Prince of Walachia, Transylvania and of Moldavia. * Michael Faraday (1791-1867), inventor and electrical pioneer. * Michael Arlen (1895–1956), Britosh novelist. * Michael Crichton (1942–2008), American novelist, screenwriter and director. Contemporary: * Sir Michael Caine, CBE (b.1933), British actor.* Sir Michael Gambon, CBE (b.1940), British actor. * Michael "Mick" Jagger (b.1943), lead singer of English band The Rolling Stones. * Michael Douglas (b.1944), American actor. * Michael Jackson (1958-2009), American pop star. * Michael J. Fox (b.1961), Canadian-American actor. * Michael Schumacher (b.1969), German racing driver. * Michael Bublé (b.1975), Canadian singer. * Michael Fassbender (b.1977), Irish actor. Literature and Other Media: * Michael Cassio, a character in Shakespeare's Othello. |
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Variants: |
Mitchell (Medieval English), Meical (Welsh), Mícheál (Irish), Mìcheal, Micheil (Scottish), Miguel (Spanish, Portuguese), Michel (French), Michail, Mikhail, Misha (Russian), Mihael, Mihail (Serbian), Mikael (Finnish) |
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Pronunciation: |
MĪ-kəl [key] |
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Possible diminutives: |
Mike, Mikey, Micky, Cael |
| Sibling Names: |
Hannah Elizabeth Rebecca Abigail Rachael Sarah |
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Name Lists: |
Medieval Favourites Terrifically Tudor Gorgeously Georgian Shakespearean Names Dickensian Names Bronte Names Enid Blyton Names Tennyson Names |
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Thanks to Chamali for requesting this post.
