Michael
Michael is a boys' name of Hebrew origin meaning “who is like God.” It ranked #8 in the United States in 2025. From Hebrew 'Mikha'el,' meaning 'who is like God.
how do you pronounce Michael?
MY-kul
Hear it spoken aloud with our AI pronunciation tool.
what does Michael mean?
The name Michael means “who is like God.” It comes from the Hebrew language tradition.
From Hebrew 'Mikha'el,' meaning 'who is like God.' The Archangel Michael is the commander of God's armies in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, making Michael one of the most consistently popular names in Western history.
where does the name Michael come from?
From the Hebrew מִיכָאֵל (Mikha'el), which is a rhetorical question rather than a statement: mi, who, ke, like, and El, God — who is like God? The expected answer is no one, so the name is a declaration of God's incomparability disguised as an enquiry.
the history of Michael
Daniel calls Michael one of the chief princes and the protector of Israel; the title archangel is applied to him later, in the New Testament letter of Jude. Revelation places him at the head of the heavenly host against the dragon. That standing made the name ubiquitous across Christian Europe, and later across the Orthodox and Islamic worlds as Mikhail and Mika'il. It topped the American boys' charts almost without interruption from 1954 to 1998.
how popular is this name?
| Year | Rank |
|---|---|
| 2024 | #8 |
| 2023 | #8 |
| 2022 | #9 |
| 2021 | #9 |
| 2020 | #9 |
Source: SSA National Baby Names Dataset
what are the nicknames and variants of Michael?
Nicknames
Variants around the world
who are famous people named Michael?
- Michael Jordan (basketball player)
- Michael Jackson (musician)
- Michael B. Jordan (actor)
- Archangel Michael
what names are similar to Michael?
what names go well with Michael?
Sibling names that share Michael's rhythm and register without echoing it too closely.
Last reviewed April 30, 2026 · Curated by HushName editorial
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