(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.
German (also Köpp): from a North German pet form of Jakob (see Jacob).
German: nickname for someone with a noticeable deformity or peculiarity of the head, from Low German Kopp ‘head’.
German: from the South German dialect word Kopp (also Kapp) ‘young cock’, ‘capon’, hence possibly a nickname for a young upstart or a metonymic occupational name for a keeper or breeder of poultry or game cocks.
German: habitational name from a place so called in the Eifel Mountains.
Hungarian: habitational name from a place so named near Naszvad. The place name is of German origin. A small plot of land near village was named Vábrikkenkopp (from German Weg Brückenkopf) by a Hungarian soldier in the Habsburg Army, who used to stand on watch at the bridge across the Vág river. The locals had difficulty with the name and later shortened it to Kopp.
