as a First Name
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.
| 3rd in the U.S. for 2011 |
Nicknames & variations
Quick facts
- Millions
- of people in the U.S have this name
- 3,526,237
- to be exact (as of February 2011)
- 4,246,868
- if you include dead people (since the government started keeping track)
- Rhode Island
- has the most people named Michael per capita
- 1969
- marked the height of its popularity
0.40%
99.60%
23%
55+
55+
47%
30-54
30-54
19%
13-29
13-29
12%
0-12
0-12
Top state populations
U.S. Distribution Map
Top Twitterers with this name
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