(male) English form of a common biblical name (meaning ‘who is like God?’ in Hebrew) borne by one of the archangels, the protector of the ancient Hebrews, who is also regarded as a saint of the Catholic Church. In the Middle Ages, Michael was regarded as captain of the heavenly host (see Revelation 12:7–9), symbol of the Church Militant, and patron of soldiers. He was often depicted bearing a flaming sword. The name is also borne by a Persian prince and ally of Belshazzar mentioned in the Book of Daniel. Since the early 1900s it has been one of the most enduringly popular boys' names in the English-speaking world. See also Michal.
Cognates: Irish: Mícheál. Scottish Gaelic: Mìcheal. Welsh: Meical, Mihangel. German: Michael. Dutch: Michaël, Machiel. Scandinavian: Mikael. Danish, Norwegian: Mikkel. French: Michel. Spanish, Portuguese: Miguel. Catalan: Miquel. Italian: Michele. Russian: Mikhail. Polish: Michał. Czech: Michal. Croatian: Mihovil. Serbian: Mihajlo. Slovenian: Mihael. Finnish: Mikko. Hungarian: Mihály.
Short forms: Mike, Mick.
Pet forms: Mick(e)y, Mikey.
English (very common in England, especially in the south Midlands, and in Wales) and German (especially northwestern Germany): patronymic from the personal name Adam. In the U.S. this form has absorbed many patronymics and other derivatives of Adam in languages other than English. (For forms, see Hanks and Hodges 1988.)
FOREBEARS This American family name was borne by two early presidents of the United States, father and son. They were descended from Henry Adams, who settled in Braintree, MA, in 1635/6, from Barton St. David, Somerset, England. The younger of the two presidents, John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) derived his middle name from his maternal grandmother's family name (see Quincy).Another important New England family, established mainly in NH, is descended from William Adams, who emigrated from Shropshire, England, to Dedham, MA, in 1628. James Hopkins Adams (1812–61), governor of SC, was unconnected with either of these families, his ancestry being Welsh; his forebears entered North America through PA.
