Meanings
plural Michaels · alternative Michaell · alternative Mykal
- countableA male given name from Hebrew.
He looked more like a Michael; big guy, dark-haired, good posture, his back ramrod straight.
2015 August 25, Sue Grafton, X, Penguin, →ISBN, page 2775 more examples
Yea, it seems to me not fit for Christian humility to call a man Gabriel or Michael, giving the names of angels to the sons of mortality.
1629, Thomas Adams, Meditations upon Creed: The Works of Thomas Adams, James Nichol (1862), volume 3, page 212He works in the steelworks, the boyfriend, on the factory floor. I'd say that was quite unusual, he's called Michael. Insists on that, he does, not being called Mike or Micky or Mick, pretends not to hear you, then, "No, my name's actually Michael."
2008, Philip Hensher, The Northern Clemency, HarperCollins, →ISBN, page 498Elisheva Baskin and Michael Stein are to be married Sunday evening at the Palisadium, an event space in Cliffside Park, N.J. Rabbi Yaacov Love is to officiate.
2013 July 26, “Elisheva Baskin and Michael Stein”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 29 Jul 2013On May 28, 1975, 16-year-old Michael Slobodian walked into Brampton Centennial Secondary School and opened fire, killing two people and wounding 13 others before turning the gun on himself.
2015 May 23, Andrew Francis Wallace, “Brampton Centennial students still haunted by shooting rampage 40 years on”, in Toronto Star, archived from the original on 16 Nov 2023The vote was 213-209 along party lines. Republican members of the House Ethics Committee – Michael Guest of Mississippi, Dave Joyce of Ohio, Andrew Garbarino of New York, John Rutherford of Florida and Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota – voted present. GOP Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado also voted present but he is not on the Ethics Committee.
2023 June 21, Haley Talbot and Kristin Wilson, “House votes to censure Democratic congressman who led Trump investigations”, in CNN, archived from the original on 03 Mar 2024 - JudaismcountableuncountableChristianityAn archangel associated with defending the faithful in the tribulation.
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 12:71 more example
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince that standeth for the children of thy people.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Daniel 12:1Synonyms: Provost of Heaven, Provost of Paradise, Saint Michael
- countableuncountableA surname transferred from the given name.
- countableuncountableA parish and sheading of the Isle of Man.
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounAn archangel associated with defending the faithful in the tribulation.
Origin
- Biblical Hebrewמִי (mí)
- Biblical Hebrewכַּ־ (ka-)
- Biblical Hebrewאֵל (él)
- Biblical Hebrewמִיכָאֵל (mīḵāʾēl)
- Koine GreekΜῐχᾱήλ (Mĭkhāḗl)
- LatinMichāēl
- Old FrenchMiche
- LatinMichāēl
- LatinMichāhē
- Old EnglishMichahel
- Middle EnglishMichael
- EnglishMichael
From Middle English Michael, from Old French Michel, Old English Michahel, from their source Latin Michaēl, Michāhēl, from Ancient Greek Μῐχᾱήλ (Mĭkhāḗl), from Biblical Hebrew מִיכָאֵל (mîḵāʾēl, literally “who is like God?”). Doublet of Miguel and Mikhail.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek Μιχαήλ, Μιχαήλ
- Μιχαήλ (Mikhaḗl)male given name
- Μιχαήλ (Mikhaḗl)archangel
Arabic مِيكَائِيل, مِيخَائِيل
- مِيكَائِيل (mīkāʔīl)male given name
- مِيخَائِيل (mīḵāʔīl)male given name
- مِيكَال (mīkāl)male given name
- مَايْكِل (māykil)male given name
- مِيشَال (mīšāl)male given name
- مِيشِيل (mīšīl)male given name
- مِيكَائِيل (mīkāʔīl)archangel
- مِيخَائِيل (mīḵāʔīl)archangel
- مِيكَال (mīkāl)archangel
Basque Mikel
- Mikelmale given name
Bulgarian Михаил, Ма́йкъл
- Михаил (Mihail)male given name
- Ма́йкъл (Májkăl)male given name
Catalan Miquel, Miquel
- Miquelmale given name
- Miquelarchangel
Chinese Cantonese 米高
- 米高 (mai⁵ gou¹)male given name
Chinese Mandarin 邁克爾 /迈克尔, 麥可 /麦可
- 邁克爾 /迈克尔 (Màikè'ěr)male given name
- 麥可 /麦可 (Màikě)male given name
- 米迦勒 (Mǐjiālè)archangel
- 彌額爾 /弥额尔 (Mí'é'ěr)archangel
Czech Michal, Michael
- Michalmale given name
- Michaelarchangel
Danish Michael, Mikael
- Michaelmale given name
- Mikaelmale given name
- Mikkelmale given name
- Mikaelarchangel
Dutch Michiel, Michaël
- Michielmale given name
- Michaëlmale given name
- Michelmale given name
- Maikelmale given name
Esperanto Mikelo, Miĥaelo
- Mikelomale given name
- Miĥaelomale given name
- Mikaelomale given name
- Miĥaeloarchangel
- Mikaeloarchangel
Estonian Miikael, Mihkel
- Miikaelmale given name
- Mihkelmale given name
- Miikaelarchangel
Finnish Mikko, Mikael
- Mikkomale given name
- Mikaelarchangel
French Michel, Michaël
- Michelmale given name
- Michaëlmale given name
- Michelarchangel
German Michael, Michael
- Michaelmale given name
- Michaelarchangel
Greek Μιχαήλ, Μιχάλης
- Μιχαήλ (Michaḯl)male given name
- Μιχάλης (Michális)male given name
Hawaiian Mikaʻele, Mikala
- Mikaʻelemale given name
- Mikalamale given name
- Mikaʻelaarchangel
Hebrew מיכאל, מיכאל
- מיכאל (Mîḵāʾēl)male given name
- מיכאלarchangel
Hindi माइकल, मीकाईल
- माइकल (māikal)male given name
- मीकाईल (mīkāīl)archangel
Hungarian Mihály, Mihály
- Mihálymale given name
- Mihályarchangel
Icelandic Michael, Mikael
- Michaelmale given name
- Mikaelmale given name
- Mikjállmale given name
Irish Micheál, Mícheál
- Micheálmale given name
- Mícheálarchangel
Italian Michele, Michele
- Michelemale given name
- Michelearchangel
Japanese マイケル, マイクル
- マイケル (Maikeru)male given name
- マイクル (Maikuru)male given name
- ミカエル (Mikaeru)archangel
- ミハイル (Mihairu)archangel
- ミヒャエル (Mihyaeru)archangel
Korean 마이클, 미카일
- 마이클 (Maikeul)male given name
- 미카일 (Mikail)male given name
- 미카엘 (Mika'el)archangel
Latin Michaēl, Michaēl
- Michaēlmale given name
- Michaēlarchangel
Latvian Miķelis, Maikls
- Miķelismale given name
- Maiklsmale given name
- Miķelisarchangel
Lithuanian Mikalos, Mykolas
- Mikalosmale given name
- Mykolasmale given name
- Mykolasarchangel
Malay Mikail, Mikail
- Mikailmale given name
- Mikailarchangel
Māori Mikaere, Mikaere
- Mikaeremale given name
- Mikaerearchangel
Norwegian Mikael, Mikael
- Mikaelmale given name
- Mikaelarchangel
Persian میکائیل, مایکل
- میکائیل (mikâ'il)male given name
- مایکل (mâykel)male given name
- میکائیل (mikâ'il)archangel
Polish Michał, Święty Michał Archanioł
- Michałmale given name
- Święty Michał Archaniołarchangel
- Michałarchangel
Portuguese Miguel, Maicon
- Miguelmale given name
- Maiconmale given name
- Miguelarchangel
Romanian Mihai, Михай
- Mihaimale given name
- Михай (Mihai)male given name
- Mihailarchangel
- Михаил (Mihail)archangel
Russian Михаи́л, Майкл
- Михаи́л (Mixaíl)male given name
- Майкл (Majkl)male given name
- Михаи́л (Mixaíl)archangel
Scottish Gaelic Mìcheal, Mìcheal
- Mìchealmale given name
- Mìchealarchangel
Slovak Michal
- Michalmale given name
Spanish Miguel, Máicol
- Miguelmale given name
- Máicolmale given name
- Miselmale given name
- Miguelarchangel
Swahili Mikaeli
- Mikaeliarchangel
Swedish Mikael, Mikael
- Mikaelmale given name
- Mikaelarchangel
Tamil மைக்கேல்
- மைக்கேல் (maikkēl)male given name
Thai ไมเคิล
- ไมเคิล (Mai-kə̂ən)male given name
Turkish Mikâil, Mikâil
- Mikâilmale given name
- Mikâilarchangel
Ukrainian Миха́йло, Михаї́л
- Миха́йло (Myxájlo)male given name
- Михаї́л (Myxajíl)male given name
- Майкл (Majkl)male given name
- Михаї́л (Myxajíl)archangel
Vietnamese Mai-cơn, Micae
- Mai-cơnmale given name
- Micaearchangel
Welsh Meical, Mihangel
- Meicalmale given name
- Mihangelmale given name
- Mihangelarchangel
Yiddish מיכאל, מיכאל
- מיכאל (mikhoyl)male given name
- מיכאל (mikhoyl)archangel
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with Michael
Anagrams
Cite this entry
Michael. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Michael
“Michael.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Michael. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Michael,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Michael.
Source: Michael on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.