Michael (given name)
Michael or Micha'el is a given name that comes from Template:Lang-he, meaning "Who is like God?".[1] There are various forms of the name: Template:Lang-ar; Latin: Michael; Septuagint Template:Lang-el or Mikhaēl; Portuguese or Spanish: Miguel; Russian: Михаил or Mikhail; Italian: Michele; Dutch: Michiel; Armenian: Միքայել or Mikayel.
Michael is a popular name in the United States, and has been the first or second most popular name given to male babies in the U.S. for each year since 1954.[2] It is in the top 50 most popular boys' names in England and Wales.[3] 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 Britain, 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. September 29 is the feast day of the three archangels, 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 Mitchell, Micallef and Carmichael.
Short form and other versions
"Mike", "Mick", "Mikiel", "Mikey", "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 counterpart. Similarly, the Welsh versions "Meical" and "Meic" are pronounced the same way as the English.
In Russian, "Миша" ("Mischa" or "Misha") is the shortened form of Michael.
Maicol is another spelling of "Michael".
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)
- Mikhail Kutuzov (1745-1813)
- Michael II (1917)
King of Poland
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
Popular culture
- Michael (1924 film), a film directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer
- Michael (1996 film), a film starring John Travolta
- Michael, a song by Franz Ferdinand (band)
- Michael (Pokémon), hero of Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
- Michael, a character in the television series Stargate Atlantis, first appearing in the episode "Michael" (Stargate Atlantis)
- "Michael Row the Boat Ashore"
Other uses
- Michael District, the local government district on the Isle of Man
- Michael (gorilla)
- a German attack in the Spring Offensive of World War I
- a poem by William Wordsworth
- an authentication algorithm used in Wi-Fi Protected Access
See also
References
- ^ "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>
- ^ "SSA: Popular Baby Names" (HTML). Social Security Online. Office of the Chief Actuary of the United States Social Security Administration. 2007-01-04. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
- ^ [1]
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