Michelle is a given name, originally a variant of Michèle, the French feminine form of Michel, derived from the Hebrew name Michael meaning "Who is like God?".[3] The usual Latin feminine form of the name was Michaela, with Michael the vernacular form for both men and women. The name was given in reference to the archangel Michael, a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. The usual French feminine form of the name was Micheline. The name Michelle was rare until the 20th century. It became a popular name in France and later throughout the Anglosphere after 1930, popularized by French-born film actress Michèle Morgan, who was born Simone Roussel. The name was further popularized by the 1965 hit Beatles song "Michelle". The name peaked in usage for American girls in 1968, when it was among the five most popular names for newborn girls. The name has since declined in popularity but remains in regular use in English-speaking as well as French-speaking countries.[3] [4] [5]
Pronunciation | /mɪˈʃɛl/ mish-EL |
---|---|
Gender | Female |
Origin | |
Language(s) | Hebrew via French and English |
Meaning | "Who is like God?" |
Other names | |
Variant form(s) | Michele, Michaela, Micaela, Michalina[1] |
Short form(s) | Chelle, Elle,[2] Ellie, Elly, Shelley, Shelly |
Derived | Michèle |
Related names | Michael, Michaela, Michel, Ellie, Mitchell |
It is also a surname.
Variants and cognates
edit- Albanian: Miçel
- Arabic: ميشيل
- Armenian: Միշել
- Belarusian: Мішэль ( Mišeĺ)
- Bengali: মিশেল ( Miśēla)
- Bulgarian: Мишел, Микаела, Михаела
- Chinese Simplified: 米歇尔 (Mǐ xiē ěr)
- Chinese Traditional: 米歇爾 (Mǐ xiē ěr)
- Czech: Michaela, Michala
- Danish: Mikaela, Mikkeline
- Finnish: Mikaela
- French: Michèle
- Georgian: მიშელ (Mishel)
- German: Michaela, Michi
- Greek: Μιχαέλα
- Gujarati: મિશેલ ( Miśēla)
- Hebrew: מישל
- Hindi: मिशेल ( Miśēla)
- Hungarian: Mihaéla
- Indonesian: Michelle, Michaela, Michela
- Italian: Micaela, Michela, Michelina, Lina
- Japanese: ミシェル ( Misheru)
- Kannada: ಮಿಚೆಲ್ (Micel)
- Khmer: មីឆែល (Mee-chael)
- Korean: 미셸 (Misyel)
- Marathi: मिशेल ( Miśēla)
- Mongolian: Мишээл ( Misheel)
- Norwegian: Mikaela
- Persian: میشل
- Polish: Michalina
- Portuguese: Micaela, Miguela
- Punjabi: ਮਿਸ਼ੇਲ ( Miśēla)
- Romanian: Mihaela
- Russian: Мишель (Mishel')
- Serbian: Мишел ( Mišel)
- Slovak: Michaela
- Slovene: Mihaela
- Spanish: Micaela, Miguela
- Swedish: Michaela, Mikaela
- Tamil: மைக்கேல் ( Maikkēl)
- Telugu: మిచెల్ ( Micel)
- Thai: มิเชล (Michel)
- Ukrainian: Михайлина (Mychajlyna)
- Urdu: مشیل
- Yiddish: מישעל ( Myşʻl)
Notable people named Michelle
editAs given name
edit
A–Gedit
|
H–Medit
|
O–Yedit
|
As stage name
editAs surname
edit- Candice Michelle (born 1978), American model, actress and retired professional wrestler
- Cara Michelle, American Playmate-of-the-month and actress
- Janee Michelle (born 1946), American actress
- Vicki Michelle (born 1950), British actress best known for playing as Yvette Carte-Blanche from the British sitcom 'Allo 'Allo!
Fictional characters
edit- Michelle, a chef girl from Nordcurrent's game, Cooking Fever
- Michelle, the character from The Next Step, former member of A-Troupe and studio head, played Victoria Baldessara
- Michelle Connor in the British soap opera Coronation Street
- Michelle Corrigan in the British soap opera Doctors
- Michelle Chang in the Tekken series of fighting games
- Michelle Dessler in the TV series 24
- Michelle Dubois in the TV series ''Allo 'Allo!
- Michelle Flaherty in the American Pie film series
- Michelle Fowler in the British soap opera EastEnders
- Michelle Peng in Juken Sentai Gekiranger
- Michelle Richardson in the TV series Skins
- Michelle Scully in the Australian soap opera Neighbours
- Michelle Tanner in the TV series Full House
- Michelle Jones (MJ) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film series
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Hanks, P.; Hodges, F. (1996). A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford paperback reference. Oxford University Press. p. 3262. ISBN 978-0-19-280050-3.
- ^ Hanks, P.; Hodges, F. (1996). A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford paperback reference. Oxford University Press. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-19-280050-3.
- ^ a b Hanks, P.; Hodges, F. (1996). A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford paperback reference. Oxford University Press. p. 3267. ISBN 978-0-19-280050-3.
- ^ Campbell, Niamh (20 April 2022). "Derry Girls-inspired baby names gain popularity across UK and Ireland". belfasttelegraph.co.uk. Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ Evans, Cleveland Kent (17 January 2021). "Cleveland Evans: Beatles song accelerates Michelle's boom". omaha.com. Omaha World Herald. Retrieved 20 January 2024.