(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.
Chinese 龚: the origin of this surname dates back to the time of the legendary emperor Huang Di (2697–2595 BC). An adviser held the surname Gonggong, comprised of two different characters that are pronounced Gong in modern Chinese. The first of these characters served as the basis for two later surnames: some descendants combined the symbol for ‘water’ with that for Gong, creating the surname Hong (see Hong 1); others added the character for ‘dragon’, creating the surname Gong.
Chinese 宫: from a character meaning ‘palace’, part of the title of an official in charge of guarding the palace. During the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 BC), descendants of such an official adopted Gong as their surname.
Chinese 巩: from the name of the state of Gong-Bo, located in Henan province during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 BC).
Chinese 公: of uncertain origin; this character came into use as a surname during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 BC) in the state of Lu in present-day Shandong province.
Chinese 弓: from a character meaning ‘bow’. This name originated with Hui, a grandson of the legendary emperor Huang Di (2697–2595 BC). Hui invented bows and arrows, an accomplishment that inspired two surnames: Gong, the character for ‘bow’, and Zhang (see Zhang), which is composed of the characters for ‘bow’ + ‘long’.
