(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: topographic name or metonymic occupational name for someone who lived by or worked at a barn or barns, from Middle English barn ‘barn’, ‘granary’. In some cases, it may be a habitational name from Barnes (on the Surrey bank of the Thames in London), which was named in Old English with this word.
English: name borne by the son or servant of a barne, a term used in the early Middle Ages for a member of the upper classes, although its precise meaning is not clear (it derives from Old English beorn, Old Norse barn ‘young warrior’). Barne was also occasionally used as a personal name (from an Old English, Old Norse byname), and some examples of the surname may derive from this use.
Irish: possibly an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Bearáin ‘descendant of Bearán’, a byname meaning ‘spear’.
French: variant of Bern.
Jewish: variant of Parnes.
