Michael

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Michael is a male given name and family name . For the female form see Michaela .

Origin and meaning

Archangels Michael and Lucifer

The first name Michael comes from the Greek from Hebrew ( Hebrew מיכאל(Mikha'el)) and means "Who is like God ?". It is named after the Archangel Michael , who in the New Testament represents the fighter of the devil and hell's dragon. In the early Middle Ages he began to oust the old Germanic Wotan as a conqueror of Satan . Therefore, many Wotansberg mountains - which functioned as religious high-altitude cult sites for the Germanic peoples - were henceforth named Michaelsberg .

distribution

Distribution of the first name Michael in Germany and the USA

Michael is a popular name in many countries around the world. According to one theory, the name first found popularity in Germany through the Byzantine wife of the German Emperor Otto II , Theophanu , who herself ruled as German Empress for seven years from 985 . The name was popular in the Byzantine Empire, it was borne by nine emperors of the Byzantine Empire, Michael I to Michael IX. of Byzantium.

In the Middle Ages, the name was not among the ten most popular first names in southern Germany in the census of 1323-48 (using the example of Bamberg), in the 1481-97 census it was the 8th most popular first name in Bamberg, but not in northern Germany. From genealogical statistics in Europe it can be deduced that the first name had a small high in popularity around the year 1600 and shortly thereafter (peak 0.2% of all first names in 1611), then a relatively steady frequency of up to the end of the 1930s 0.05-0.1%.

From the end of the 19th century, relatively reliable name statistics are available in Germany. Accordingly, Michael was in the decade 1890-1899 on the 53rd place of popularity. In the two decades from 1900 to 1920, Michael was no longer among the most frequent eighty or ninety first names, in the 1920s he was in place 90 and in the 1930s in place 81.

In 1941 the name appeared for the first time on the list of the 35 most common male given names in Germany, at number 27, then rose continuously from number 20 (1942/43) and number 17 (1944) to number 14 in 1945. This one The increase in the time of National Socialism took place despite the official rejection of Hebrew and other foreign first names. On the other hand, a novel by the later Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels published in 1929 was named after his hero Michael .

The popularity of the first name Michael continued to increase: in 1948 at number 12, in 1950 at number 7 and thus for the first time among the ten most popular first names. In 1955 the first name was in first place, and remained among the three most popular first names in Germany until 1973. It reached number 1 in 1955, 1956, 1959, 1971, 1972 and 1973. In 1974 it was only number 6, between 1975 and 1984 it reached values ​​that fluctuated between number 2 and number 11, before it was no longer among the most popular from 1985 onwards ten first names ended up. From 1985 to 1988 he was among the top fifteen, in 1990 then only in place 30. From 1992 he is no longer among the 35 most popular first names. In 2005 it was in 72nd place, in 2007 in 92nd place and in 2010 in 100th place.

It is unclear how the increased popularity of the first name in Germany from 1941 onwards is related to the parallel increase in popularity of the name in the USA. Here the name, very similar to Germany, was 51st in 1880 and 54th in 1930, but slowly increased in popularity from 1936 onwards. In 1940 he was in the USA at number 18, in 1943 at number 10, and in 1946 at number 7. From 1953 to 2010 the first name in the USA was always in one of the first three places, from 1954 to 1998 even 45 years Platz 1, then again from 1999 to 2008 at No. 2. It was not until 2011, the first name slipped in the United States at No. 6, 2012 8 place in the city of New York , the first name in 2012 was black boy at No. 6 in white Boys still in 3rd place.

The first name is just as popular today only in Brazil (2013 number 1, as Miguel) and Ireland (2012 number 9). In the Philippines, Denmark (Mikkel, 11th place) and Finland (Mikael, 14th place), Austria (24th place), however, the name is no longer among the ten most popular first names in 2012, unlike a few years earlier. In England, too, popularity has been falling steadily since the mid-1980s, in 1996 it was still in 22nd place, in 2011 it was only in 53rd place.

patron

The Archangel Michael is considered the patron saint of the Israelite and German people and the Catholic Church . Numerous shrines and churches are dedicated to him; these are listed under Michaeliskirche . He also acts as the patron saint for numerous professions such as pharmacists, bakers, merchants and police officers. As the leader of the heavenly host , he is also the patron saint of paratroopers of all nations.

name day

September 29 (Michaelmas Day) is celebrated by the Roman Catholic , Anglican and some Protestant churches as the memorial day of the Archangel Michael . Today the Eastern Churches celebrate the feast of St. Michael on November 8th , after the dates June 18th, October 27th and December 10th were common in old Byzantium, depending on the church.

Other days of remembrance of the Roman Catholic Church are:

Other memorial days of the Orthodox churches are:

variants

Archangel Michael, Schwerin Castle


  • Maicon (Portuguese)
  • Maik , Meik
  • Micah
  • Micha
  • Michail (Russian, Eastern European)
  • Michal (Slovak, Czech), Michał (Polish, Sorbian)
  • Μιχάλης (Michalis), Μιχαήλ (Michail) (Greek)
  • Mícheál (Irish)
  • Michel (French, Rhaeto-Romanic, also German short form)
  • Michele (Italian)
  • Michi , Michl , Michel, Mik (German short forms)
  • Machiel (Dutch)
  • Michiel (Dutch)
  • Mick , Micky (English short forms)
  • Miguel (Spanish, Portuguese)
  • Mihovil (Croatian)
  • Mijo (Croatian short form of Mihovil)
  • Mihael (Slovenian, Croatian)
  • Miha (Slovenian)
  • Mihailo , Mihajlo (Serbian)
  • Mihail (Romanian)
  • Mychajlo (Ukrainian)
  • Micheil (Georgian)
  • Mihály (Hungarian)
  • Mihkel (Estonian)
  • Miķelis (Latvian)
  • Miikka (Finnish)
  • Mika (Finnish)
  • Mikk (Estonian)
  • Mikkel (Scandinavian)
  • Mikko (Finnish, Estonian)
  • Mikael (Scandinavian, Finnish; Armenian Միքաել)
  • Mikaël (French)
  • Mikail , also Mika'il, Mikaeel (Arabic ميخائيل, Turkish)
  • Mike , Mikey (English short form (pronounced: Maik); also Swedish short form (pronounced: Mike))
  • Mikel (Basque)
  • Miquel (Catalan)
  • Mischa (Миша, Russian pet form, synonym for bear)
  • Mischol (Romansh, originally Thomas )
  • Mitchell (English)
  • Mitgel (Romansh)
  • Mochl (short form in the Allgäu dialect)
  • Michu (short form in Bernese dialect)
  • Mii (short form in Lower Carinthian dialect, also outdated Mihi)


Well-known namesake

First name

As of July 2020, the Wikipedia database contains more than 8,000 surnames with the first name Michael. A list of all surnames with this first name can be found using the Wikipedia name search.

stage name

  • Michael (* 1978), German reality TV show participant
  • Michael Hartl (* 1949), the male part of the moderator and vocal duo Marianne and Michael
  • Michael Holm (* 1943), German pop singer, songwriter, lyricist, musician and music producer
  • George Michael (1963-2016), British singer
  • Marion Michael (1940–2007), German actress
  • Chris Mike (* 1961), German guitarist and music producer

See also

Web links

Wiktionary: Michael  - explanations of meanings, origins of words, synonyms, translations

swell

  1. ^ Theodor Klauser et al. (Ed.): Reallexikon für Antike und Christianentum. Non-fiction dictionary to deal with Christianity and the ancient world. I ff., Stuttgart 1950 ff., Volume 5, p. 243.
  2. ↑ Jakob Grimm: German Mythology. (1835), 3 volumes, 4th edition, ed. by Elard H. Meyer, Berlin 1875–1878; Reprint Graz 1968; Reprint Wiesbaden 1992, Volume 1, p. 247, and Volume 2, p. 698 f. and 712 f.
  3. ↑ Dr. Hans Bahlow: Our first names through the centuries (1965), Limburg, p. 74
  4. ↑ see also: Wilfried Seibicke. Historical German first name book (with documents from around 1400), Vol. 3, Berlin and New York 2000
  5. ↑ dtv-Atlas Deutsche Namenkunde, p. 108 A
  6. ↑ popularity of the first name Michael. In: de.geneanet.org. Retrieved February 23, 2016 .
  7. ^ Knud Bielefeld: Statistics Michael. In: Popular-vornamen.de. Retrieved February 23, 2016 .
  8. ↑ Knud Bielefeld: Guidelines on the use of first names from 1938. In: Popular-vornamen.de. Retrieved February 23, 2016 .
  9. ↑ Popular Names in 2014. In: ssa.gov. Retrieved February 23, 2016 .
  10. ↑ International Names Lists: Popular Names From Around the World. In: babynamewizard.com. Retrieved February 23, 2016 .
  11. ↑ Popularity for Michael in England and Wales. In: behindthename.com. Retrieved February 23, 2016 .
  12. ↑ Michael - Wikipedia People Search. Retrieved July 19, 2020 .
  13. ↑ Wikipedia people search. Retrieved on August 20, 2019 (first name = Michael).