(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: habitational name from any of the various places, for example in Derbyshire, County Durham, Gloucestershire, Staffordshire, Wiltshire, and West Yorkshire, so named from Old English stān ‘stone’ + lēah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’.
Americanized form of any of various like-sounding names in other European languages, for example Polish Stanislawski and Greek Anastasiou.
FOREBEARS The explorer and journalist Sir Henry Morton Stanley (1841–1904) was born John Rowlands in Denbigh, Wales, but traveled as a cabin boy in 1858 from Liverpool, England, to New Orleans, LA, where he was adopted by a merchant surnamed Stanley. From the late 1860s he worked as a correspondent for the New York Herald, and traveled extensively in Africa.
