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    The surname Michael

    A patronymic surname, carried by 40,736 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /ˈmaɪkəl/ 2 syllables Soundex M240 Also a first name

    Michael: #847 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#10,001Dubon Michael #847, 40,736 people Michael: #847 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez Michael #847, 40,736 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Michael is more common than 99.5% of them.

    Origin

    From Middle English Michael, from Old French Michel, Old English Michahel, from their source Latin Michaēl, Michāhēl, from Ancient Greek Μῐχᾱήλ (Mĭkhāḗl), from Biblical Hebrew מִיכָאֵל (mîḵāʾēl, literally “who is like God?”). Doublet of Miguel and Mikhail.

    Michael is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 40,736 people named Michael in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 7,579 Americans. That is up 3.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 39,369.

    #847
    rank among US surnames
    40,736
    people in 2010
    14
    per 100,000 Americans
    +3.5%
    change since 2000 (was #798)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #838Hickman41,1637,501
    #839Quintero41,1587,501
    #840Randolph41,1297,507
    #841Schaefer41,0637,519
    #842Walls41,0257,526
    #843Trejo41,0217,527
    #844House41,0007,530

    Who is named Michael

    Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

    84% of people named Michael identified as white (not Hispanic), 8.9% as Black (not Hispanic) and 3.1% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

    • White (not Hispanic) 84%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 8.9%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.1%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 1.9%
    • Two or more races 1.9%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Michaels

    12 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Blake Michael
      American actor, born 1996
    • Sam Michael
      Australian Formula One designer, born 1971
    • Gertrude Michael
      American actress (1911-1964)
    • James Michael
      American record producer and musician, born 1967
    • Gregory Michael
      American actor (1981-)
    • Arthur Michael
      American chemist (1853–1942)
    • Ralph Michael
      British actor (1907-1994)
    • Jaden Michael
      American actor (2003-)
    • Helen Abbott Michael
      American chemist (1857-1904)
    • Christine Michael
      American football player, running back, born 1990
    • Peter Godly Michael
      Association football player, born 1998
    • Masked Wolf
      Australian rapper (born 1991)

    Notable Michaels come mostly from the United States (8), Australia (2) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Variant spellings

    • Michaell
    • Mykal

    Surnames that sound like Michael

    Michael has the Soundex code M240, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code M240.

    Questions

    Where does the surname Michael come from?
    From Middle English Michael, from Old French Michel, Old English Michahel, from their source Latin Michaēl, Michāhēl, from Ancient Greek Μῐχᾱήλ (Mĭkhāḗl), from Biblical Hebrew מִיכָאֵל (mîḵāʾēl, literally “who is like God?”). Doublet of Miguel and Mikhail.
    How common is the surname Michael?
    40,736 people in the United States had the surname Michael in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 7,579 Americans. It ranked 847th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Michael?
    In the 2010 Census, 84% of people named Michael identified as white (not Hispanic), and 8.9% as Black (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Michael?
    Blake Michael, American actor, followed by Sam Michael.
    Where is the surname Michael most common?
    Wikidata records people named Michael in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 1 other country.
    How do you pronounce Michael?
    Michael is /ˈmaɪkəl/, 2 syllables.
    What type of surname is Michael?
    Michael is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
    Is the surname Michael getting more or less common?
    More common. 39,369 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 40,736 in 2010, up 3.5%.
    What are other spellings of Michael?
    Michaell and Mykal.
    Is Michael also a first name?
    Yes. Michael is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.