Michael (given name)

Michael is a usually masculine given name derived from the Hebrew phrase ''mī kāʼēl'', 'Who [is] like-El', in Aramaic: ܡܝܟܐܝܠ (''Mīkhāʼēl'' ). The theophoric name is often read as a rhetorical question – "Who [is] like [the Hebrew God] El?", whose answer is "there is none like El", or "there is none as famous and powerful as God." This question is known in Latin as ''Quis ut Deus?'' Paradoxically, the name is also sometimes interpreted as, "One who is like God."

Although sometimes considered erroneous, an alternative spelling of the name is ''Micheal''. While ''Michael'' is most often a masculine name, it is also given to women, such as the actresses Michael Michele and Michael Learned, and Michael Steele, the former bassist for the Bangles.

Patronymic surnames that come from Michael include ''Carmichael, DiMichele, MacMichael, McMichael, Michaels, Micallef, Michaelson, Michiels, Michalka, Michels, Miguélez, Mihály, Mikeladze, Mikhaylov, Mikkelsen, Mitchell, Michalski, Mykhaylenko'' and ''Mikaelyan''. Provided by Wikipedia