James Michael

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.

Short form and other versions

"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 Russian, "Миша" ("Mischa" or "Misha") is the shortened form of "Михаил" (Michael). "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.

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

Rulers named "Michael"

Byzantine emperors

• 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)
• Michael IX Palaiologos

Russian rulers

• Mikhail of Vladimir (1174 - 1176)
• Mikhail Yaroslavich (1304 - 1318)
• Michael I (1613-1645)
• Michael II (1917)

King of Poland

• Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki

King of Portugal

• Miguel of Portugal (often translated as Michael of Portugal)

Rulers of Romania

• Michael the Brave (Romanian: Mihai Viteazul, Hungarian: Vitéz Mihály); Prince of Wallachia (1593-1601), of Transylvania (1599-1600), and of Moldavia (1600)
• Michael I of Romania

British Royal Family

• Prince Michael of Kent

See also

• List of most popular given names
• Theophory in the Bible

References

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