Michael

Meaning of Michael

Michael—pronounced MY-kul—springs from the Hebrew question “Mīkhā’ēl,” literally “Who is like God?,” and ever since those ancient syllables first rolled off a desert breeze, the name has marched through history like the archangel himself, sword ablaze and wings catching every ray of cultural sunshine. He’s the perennial crowd-pleaser at the baby-naming mela: a top-rank regular in the U.S. charts for half a century, peaking at No. 1 for three straight decades and still sitting pretty in the high-teens today, much the way a veteran Bollywood star keeps stealing scenes generation after generation. On Sunday mornings you’ll hear him ringing from church bells in Goa; on weekdays he’s the friendly “Mike” trading cricket banter over cutting chai; by night he moonwalks across playlists as Michael Jackson, slam-dunks with Jordan, and cracks office jokes as Michael Scott—proof that one name can juggle more avatars than Vishnu himself. Short, strong, and sweetly familiar, Michael offers parents a passport that’s stamped in every corner of the world—and, just like a fragrant plate of masala dosa, it’s hard to stop at one serving of its irresistible charm.

Pronunciation

English

• Pronunced as MY-kul (/ˈmaɪkəl/)

• Mikhail
• Micah
• Mitchell
• Miguel