Michel

Spellings & scripts●

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 18 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◐

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

• English given name796K records spelled Michel48 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Netherlands, Brazil, Germany

  Languages: English, Dutch, Western Frisian

  Also written Michél, Michèl, Miche'L, Michël, Míchel

• a separate given name68K records spelled Michel9 spellings in the group

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

  Also written Michèl, Michél, Míchel, Michėl, Michěl

• Polish given name13K records spelled Michel11 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Poland, Czechia, Netherlands, Slovakia

  Languages: Polish, Czech, Slovak

  Also written Micheľ, Mîçhěľ, Míčhěl, Míchel, Mîčhêl

• Finnish given name5.3K records spelled Michel2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, Switzerland, United States, Belgium

  Also written Michèl

• Indonesian given name4.3K records spelled Michel2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, United States, Philippines, Netherlands

  Also written 'Michel

120 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●

Michel 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.

• In French, From Hebrew Mikha'el, “Who is like God?”; Saint Michael the Archangel, feast day 29 Sept.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In French, French form of Michael, from Hebrew Mikha'el ‘Who is like God?’

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In German, Toponymic surname from a dwelling/landscape feature; bearers 85.

  as a name·Deutscher Familiennamenatlas, Band 4: Familiennamen nach Herkunft und Wohnstätte

• shortened form of any of various patronymic derivatives of Michael, for example Micheiakis, Michelakakis, or Michelakos.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• Biblical. See English Michael in main dictionary. Feminine forms: Michéle, Michelle. Micheline @ Pet form of MICHELE.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

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) — 127 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●

• Michel Fokineb. 1880USRussian ballet dancer and choreographer (1880–1942)
• Leopold III of Belgiumb. 1901BEnot in their usual nameking of the Belgians from 1934 to 1951 (1901–1983)
• Michel Debréb. 1912FR79th Prime Minister of France (1912-1996)
• Jacques Chaban-Delmasb. 1915FRnot in their usual name82nd Prime Minister of France (1915–2000)
• Omar Sharifb. 1932EGnot in their usual nameEgyptian actor (1932–2015)
• Michel Mayorb. 1942CHSwiss astrophysicist & Nobel laureate of Physics
• Michel Kafandob. 1942BFBurkinabé diplomat
• Alexandre Desplatb. 1961FRnot in their usual nameFrench film composer (born 1961)
• Michel Gondryb. 1963FRFrench film director, screenwriter and producer (born 1963)
• Michel Hazanaviciusb. 1967FRFrench film director, producer and screenwriter

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 · 1,608 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Michel?

We estimate roughly 923 thousand people bear Michel (counting its spellings and scripts) across 11 countries in our records.

In which country does Michel have the most bearers?

We estimate about 821 thousand people bear Michel in France, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled michel.

Where is Michel most common?

Michel is densest in France, where the national register counts about 1 in 83 people carrying it.

How common is Michel compared with other names?

In France, Michel is the 6th most common given name of 711,207 given names recorded there.

Is Michel a male or female name?

Michel 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 Michel mean?

Recorded meaning: Name of Hebraic origin, Michael = “Someone who is like God”.