Michael

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This article is about the given name. For other uses, see Michael (disambiguation).
Michael
Pronunciation MĪ-kul

Gender Male
Meaning "Who is like God"[1]
Origin Hebrew: מִיכָאֵל / מיכאל‎ (mee-KHA-el)
Nicknames Mike, Mick, Mikey, Mickey, Mic, Mischka
Wikipedia articles All pages beginning with Michael
Look up Michael in
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Michael or Micha'el is a given name that comes from Hebrew: מִיכָאֵל / מיכאל‎ (mee-KHA-el), meaning "Who is like God?" .[1] It is in the top 50 most popular boys' names in England and Wales.[2] The name has been 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, especially in Ireland, Mick. 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. 29 September is the feast day of the three archangels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. "Saint Michael" can also refer to Michael HyDinh-Ho and Michael My Huy Nguyen, two of the Vietnamese Martyrs.

Female forms of Michael include Michelle and Michaela, although there are women with the name Michael, such as Michael Learned.

Surnames that come from Michael include Carmichael, Dimichele, MacMichael, McMichael, Micallef, Michaelson, and Mitchell.

Contents

[edit] Short form and other versions

This section does not cite any references or sources.
Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (October 2007)

"Mike", "Mick", "Mikiel", "Mikey", "Mikael", "Mic", "Mischka" (common in Russia) and "Mickey" are short forms of, or nick-names for, Michael as a given name. "Mick" is commonly associated with Irish people.

Meik and Maik are German short forms of Michael. The German pronunciation of both variants is identical to the English pronunciation of "Mike", since both are directly derived from their English counterparts. Similarly, the Welsh versions "Meical" and "Meic" are pronounced in the same way as their corresponding English analogues.

In Greek "Μιχάλης" ("Michalis" or "Mihalis") is an everyday common form of the "Μιχαήλ" ("Michail" or "Mihail").

In Russian, "Миша" ("Mischa" or "Misha") is the shortened form of "Михаил" (Mikhail). "Мишка" (Mishka) is a common diminutive form, and "Миха" (Mikha) is an informal shortened form.

In Hebrew, "מיכה" (Mikha) is a common shortened form of "מיכאל" (Michael, pronounced Mikha'el).

In Dutch, the given name "Chiel" is a variation of Michiel.

In Swedish, "Mix" is a nick-names for "Mikael" or "Mikel."

Mëhill or Mhill is the Albanian for Michael. The first belongs to the southern (Tosk) dialect, the second to the northern (Gheg) dialect.

[edit] Rulers named "Michael"

[edit] Byzantine emperors

[edit] Russian rulers

[edit] King of Poland

[edit] King of Portugal

[edit] Rulers of Romania

[edit] British Royal Family

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Michael" A Dictionary of the Bible. W. R. F. Browning. Oxford University Press, 1997. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Duke University. 9 May 2007 <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t94.e1250>
  2. ^ [1]
br:Michel

bg:Михаил (име) cs:Michal da:Michael de:Michael el:Μιχαήλ es:Miguel eo:Mikaelo fr:Michel ko:미카일 id:Mikail it:Michele la:Michael hu:Mihály nl:Michaël ja:ミカエル (曖昧さ回避) no:Mikael pl:Michał ru:Михаил sk:Michal sr:Михајло fi:Mikael sv:Mikael zh:迈克尔

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