(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: from Middle English doke, hence a nickname for someone with some fancied resemblance to a duck or a metonymic occupational name for someone who kept ducks or for a wild fowler.
Irish: English name adopted as an equivalent of Lohan (an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Leocháin ‘descendant of Leochán’) by mistranslation, as if from lacha ‘duck’.
Dutch: variant of Duyck. In a German-speaking environment, this is also a variant of (VAN) Dyck.
North German (also Dück): probably a nickname for a coward, from Low German duken ‘to duck or dive’.
German (Dück(e)): from a pet form of an old Germanic personal name formed with theud, diot ‘people’, ‘race’.
