Michael

Where Michael comes from

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.
— Wiktionary's entry for Michael
  • Hebrew
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1791
    Michael Faraday born
    British scientist
  2. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #46 among boys — 354 babies in the first year on record.
  3. 1957
    Peak, #1
    92,781 babies named Michael — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1958
    Michael Jackson born
    American singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer
  5. 1994
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #1.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from Hebrew.
Namesakes
  • Michael Jackson · American singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer, 1958–2009
  • Michael Faraday · British scientist, 1791–1867
  • Michael Schumacher · German racing driver, born 1969
  • Michael Jordan · American basketball player and businessman, born 1963
  • Michael Caine · English actor, born 1933

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.