Michael

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Михаил in RU Russia, KZ Kazakhstan, TR Türkiye, Mikael in FI Finland, SE Sweden, Михайло in UA Ukraine and Michał in PL Poland.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 6 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Michael is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• a separate given name1.6M records spelled Michael9 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, India, Canada

  Also written Michaël, Michae͏̈l, Michaēl, Michaḗl, Michaél

• Swahili given name515K records spelled Michael3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Kenya, Nigeria, Philippines

  Languages: Swahili, Southern Sotho

  Also written Michaël

• Indonesian given name169K records spelled Michael16 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, United States, Philippines, Malaysia

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay, Malagasy

  Also written 'Michael, Michaël, Michaèl, Mïċhäël, Micháel

• Finnish given name109K records spelled Michael31 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, Hungary, United States, Estonia

  Languages: Finnish, Hungarian, Estonian

  Also written Mihhail, Michaël, Michae͏̈l, Michâêl, Micháél

• a separate given name85K records spelled Michael17 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Canada

  Also written Michaël, Michaèl, Mïçhäèl, Míchåèl, Mí̶̷̶̶̶̹chã̶e̶̷̶̶̶̔ͅl̶̴̶̶̶̟̀

132 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Michael is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• Michael is a classic and enduring name of Hebrew origin that means "who is like God?". A timeless name with strong biblical roots, it belongs to one of the most powerful archangels, making it a symbol of strength, protection, and leadership. Popular across many cultures for centuries, it has numerous variations and nicknames, offering both traditional and modern appeal.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• Michael is an ancient and enduringly popular masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "Who is like God?". As one of the oldest names still in common use, it is associated with strength and divine protection, largely due to its connection with the Archangel Michael, who is revered in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as a protector and leader of heavenly armies.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• The name Michael is a classic and powerful name of Hebrew origin meaning "Who is like God?". It has been popular for centuries, associated with the Archangel Michael, who is known as a strong protector and a warrior for good, making it a name that signifies strength, leadership, and faith.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• The name Michael, meaning 'Who is like God?', is a classic and enduring biblical name. While this particular Michael is a minor figure in a genealogy, the name is most famously associated with the archangel Michael, a symbol of strength, leadership, and divine protection.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• Michael is a timeless and powerful biblical name meaning 'who is like God?'. In the Bible, a man named Michael was the father of Zebadiah, a leader who faithfully guided his family back to Jerusalem from exile, representing a heritage of commitment and divine providence.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Franz von Papenb. 1879DEnot in their usual nameGerman general staff officer, politician, diplomat, nobleman and Chancellor of Germany (1879–1969)
• Michael Bondb. 1926GBBritish writer (1926–2017)
• Michael Collinsb. 1930USAmerican astronaut (1930–2021)
• Michael Caineb. 1933GBEnglish actor (born 1933)
• Mikhail Talb. 1936LVnot in their usual nameSoviet-Latvian chess player (1936-1992)
• Michael Douglasb. 1944USAmerican actor, producer and activist (born 1944)
• Ozzy Osbourneb. 1948GBnot in their usual nameEnglish musician and television personality (1948–2025)
• Michael Keatonb. 1951USAmerican actor
• Michael Ballackb. 1976DEGerman association football player (born 1976)
• Michael Owenb. 1976GBEnglish association football player

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 2,281 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Michael?

We estimate roughly 6.3 million people bear Michael (counting its spellings and scripts) across 12 countries in our records.

In which country does Michael have the most bearers?

Michael is most frequently recorded in Russia, where it is most often spelled михаил.

How common is Michael compared with other names?

In Russia, Michael is the 21st most common given name of 418,751 given names recorded there.

Is Michael a male or female name?

Michael is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Michael mean?

Recorded meaning: from the male personal name Michael, ultimately from Hebrew, literally 'who is like God?'