Talk:Michael (given name)/Archive 1

Slur
Mick should not redirect here as it is also a racist slur.Jigsaw Jimmy 16:45, 5 June 2006 (UTC)
 * It says in the article that it has this offensive meaning.--Runcorn 19:26, 5 June 2006 (UTC)
 * but, por ejemplo, if you look up wop it leads to the list of ethnic slursJigsaw Jimmy 17:54, 9 June 2006 (UTC)
 * But Mick is used more often as a form of Michael than as a slur. I have never heard Wop used as a name. By all means x-ref the list of slurs. --Runcorn 06:31, 10 June 2006 (UTC)
 * what is this x-ref you speak of


 * I mean add a cross-reference like List of ethnic slurs .--Runcorn 19:38, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

Hebrew
There is, IIRC, an actual questioning element in the Hebrew Michael, and thus, it could easily be read "Who is like G-d?" Supposedly this was the Archangel's response to the Adversary's attempt to tempt him away from faithful service.

That interpretation of the name is mentioned at Michael the Archangel.

Russian last tsar Michael
The article says that Prince Michael of Kent was named in honor of the last Russian tsar. However, the List of Russian rulers ends with Nicholas II. Mikhail Alexandrovich may not officially be called a tsar: he refused the title when Nicholas abdicated and was never crowned. Perhaps, it should be reflected here. Nikolenko 13:32, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Merge: "Mick"
The section on short form and other uses was originally on "Mick", which is now redirected to this article. Fluit 23:25, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

The slang form of "mick" may be an an association of an Irish person with the "Mc" spelling common in Irish names, as contrasted with the "Mac" spelling more common in Scottish names. Gil 17:13, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

It's now proposed to merge Maicol, which seems fair enough. --Runcorn 06:54, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

Things that don't belong here

 * Michael Ancram
 * Michael Aspel
 * Michael Buffer
 * Michael Caine
 * Michael Crichton
 * Michael Douglas
 * Michael Eisner
 * Michael Epstein
 * Michael J. Fox
 * Michael Hutchence
 * Michael Jackson
 * Michael Jordan
 * Michael Keaton
 * Michael Knight
 * Michael Marmot
 * Michael Moore
 * Michael Myers
 * Michael Nesmith
 * Michael Owen
 * Michael Palin
 * Michael Schumacher
 * Michael Wilbon
 * Michael's Birthday
 * Michael's Gate

As per disambiguation disambiguation articles are for disambiguating amongst articles that would otherwise share the same title. To quote:
 * In most cases, do not list names of which Title is a part, unless the persons are very frequently referred to simply by their first or last name (e.g. Shakespeare, Galileo).

These entries have been removed because they do not belong here. The encyclopaedia articles on these subjects would not have the title Michael (but would have the titles that they actually do have).

Furthermore: Translations of words are the function of Wiktionary, the lexical companion to Wikipedia and which is a translating dictionary amongst many other things. They, also, do not belong here. Uncle G 18:11, 2005 Jun 5 (UTC)


 * They are useful for people trying to find people named Michael. &mdash;Lowellian (talk) 01:31, Jun 6, 2005 (UTC)


 * This situation is similar to that of a redirect. From Redirect:
 * Someone finds them useful. Hint: If someone says they find a redirect useful, they probably do. You might not find it useful — this is not because the other person is a liar, but because you browse Wikipedia in different ways.
 * You might not find the stuff in this article useful, but you do not know others' browsing habits. Now, Michael could redirect straight to an article, but there are multiple famous people/things named Michael. That is why it has to be a disambiguation page, and that is why this stuff in the article has to be kept. &mdash;Lowellian (talk) 01:36, Jun 6, 2005 (UTC)
 * Your (or anyone else's) browsing habits are not the point: rather, it's Wikipedia policy not to list people on a dab page just because it's part of their name.&mdash;Wahoofive (talk) 05:24, 6 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * The relevant paragraph is this:
 * In most cases, do not list names of which Title is a part, unless the persons are very frequently referred to simply by their first or last name (e.g. Galileo, Shakespeare).
 * Accordingly, the kings of Portugal might belong, but not the modern Michaels.&mdash;Wahoofive (talk) 05:26, 6 Jun 2005 (UTC)


 * This is not a disambiguation page. It's an article about the name "Michael", which includes lists of prominent people named   Michael.  &mdash;Michael Z. 2005-06-6 13:50 Z 


 * I have started a discussion at Wikipedia talk:Disambiguation. &mdash;Lowellian (talk) 17:31, Jun 6, 2005 (UTC)

Semi-protection
There has been to many people vandalising this page so what if someone put a semi-protection on this page. Lo nd  on   UK   16:15, 9 May 2006 (BST)
 * nothing happens. administrator can semi-protect page and than put tag for our information. i don't think that it's needed - it was just a random vandal. -- tasc talkdeeds 16:06, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

Maicol
"Maicol is another spelling of "Michael". It is a name given in Brazil (where it is more usual to write it as Maicon), Italy and sometimes other Latin countries" I have never heard of Maicol being used in Italy, only ever Michele. Can anyone correct me on this or should Italy be removed from the above sentence? Mike 16:08, 24 September 2006 (UTC)
 * This is very late, but the sentence is badly worded anyway, because it implies that Italy is a Latin country. 131.128.212.34 00:30, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

Bulgarian ruler with the name Michael
St. Boris-Michael (852—889 CE)

Ruler of First Bulgarian Kingdom. Born Boris; accepted Christianity and the name Michael in year 864.

2007-03-14 Automated pywikipediabot message
--CopyToWiktionaryBot 06:10, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Other languages
french: Michel, Michelle (female)

german: Michael, Michaela (female)

spanish: Miguel

italian: Michelle**

russian: Mihail

hungarian: Mihaly

croatian: Mihovil

serbian: Mihajlo —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 89.51.3.204 (talk) 20:09, 15 March 2007 (UTC). Perhaps someone can add "Miguelito" which is another version of spainish.Mindflayerz 03:26, 21 April 2007 (UTC)

Turkish : Mikail —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.97.26.196 (talk) 18:54, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

I would just like to add that the Dutch short form Chiel (from Michiel) is also spelt Giel sometimes. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.161.146.139 (talk) 10:26, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

**Your Italian is incorrect. It should be MICHELE.

Other languages
Something worth doing is worth doing well. Michael in Hungarian is Mihály, with an á.

More English name derivations from Michael There is a surname Mihell with about 14 variant spellings such as Myel, Myell Mihill which are said to derive from the French version introduced by the Normans from 1066. Before spelling was standardised some of these spellings were used as Christian names too. Also used for the archangel as in "Seynte Mihell tharcangel" in the records of Yalding Church (West Sussex)donations. More information about the name variants is on the Internet Surname Database.Sue V King 17:10, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

I've never heard of "Mix" in Swedish but "Micke" is extremely common. Changed. Orcoteuthis (talk) 19:44, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

Hebrew origin: transliteration needed
" Hebrew: מִיכָאֵל / מיכאל "‎: This is English wikipedia. Please provide English trans;itreration. `'Míkka 00:24, 21 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I added a transliteration as suggested, however there is no English equivalent of the Hebrew כ sound. The closest is CHA, but it's really supposed to be a sound that emanates from the throat. If anyone knows of a way to transliterate the true pronunciation please edit my version. Equazcion (Talk • Contribs) 03:02, 21 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Changed CHA to the more accurate KHA. Still not perfect, but better. Equazcion (Talk • Contribs) 03:17, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

Why is there a question mark?
Michael -> "Who is like God?"

Was there no punctuation back then? —Preceding unsigned comment added by CarosLaw (talk • contribs) 03:17, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

Wrong transcription from Russian
In transcription from Cyrillic, it's Michail with an i. Please change. -andy 84.149.103.162 (talk) 23:55, 15 December 2007 (UTC)

Mikhail Gorbachev
I added M. Gorbachev to the list of Russian rulers, although the whole list of rulers contains people who mostly had absolute power during their reign. In addition, Gorbachev was not just the leader of Russia, but also that of the whole Soviet Union, even though much of the actual governing was done also by the Poliburo. -Mardus (talk) 05:59, 5 March 2008 (UTC)

Michail Gorbachev was NOT a leader of Russia. He was Russian, yes, but formally he was the president of the Soviet Union. Each republic of the union had its own leader, and so did Russia, also during Gorbachevs time as the head of the USSR. Listing Gorbachev among Russian leaders would mean setting an equation mark between Russia and the USSR and thus disregarding the other 14 member states. InfernoPublicus (talk) 11:17, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

Meaning clarification
"Who is like god." Is this saying that the bearer of the name is like god, or is it a question asking if he is like god? Just wondering. 125.238.135.45 (talk) 02:28, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Misplaced question mark?
From the article:
 * Michael is a given name that comes from the Hebrew: מִיכָאֵל / מיכאל‎ (Mikha'el), meaning "Who is like God?"
 * Michael is a given name that comes from the Hebrew: מִיכָאֵל / מיכאל‎ (Mikha'el), meaning "Who is like God?"

Is it possible that there should be no question mark and it should say "Who is like God", with no question mark? I.e. it means "one who is like God". In 19th-century dictionaries, one commonly saw definitions like this: "plowable &mdash; that may be plowed". I.e. a plowable plot of land is one that may be plowed. "Who is like God" with no question mark would be similarly construed.

In the present day it seems even literate people do not understand definitions phrased in that way, and may mistake such a phrase for a question. Michael Hardy (talk) 01:32, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

Well-known Michaels
We should create a paragraph with all the well-known people who have the name Michael or all its related names. Like Michael Jackson and Michael Moore. This is already done in the Dutch Wiki. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Michaelphillipr (talk • contribs) 15:32, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

Link with other Wikis
Can someone link this to the Dutch Wikipedia. So that it says "Languages"
 * Dutch --Michaelphillipr (talk) 12:30, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Deliberate misspelling?
Do some actors named "Michael" (like this guy) have their names intentionally misspelled as "Micheal" (either as an affectation or because their parents misspelled it on their birth certificate!), or is it just likely to be typos in official credits etc.? Dave-ros (talk) 20:59, 29 January 2010 (UTC)

I don't think they do it as an affectation or that it's the result of a typo. As far as I understand, there are many parents in the US who name their children "Micheal" and then find out later that they have misspelled their child's name. When those children become adults, they may (naturally enough) claim that it was an intentional choice on the part of their parents. I think that's pretty understandable. It would be embarrassing to admit to friends and family members that your parents wanted to give you a certain name but then couldn't be bothered to look up how to spell it correctly Mardiste (talk) 22:25, 14 March 2011 (UTC)

Japanese spelling
In romanji (Romanized Japanese), the name "Maika" was thought to be from Michael. I doubt this claim, because Mai is a female name & it stands for "to dance" in Chinese, "beauty" in Japanese and there isn't a "Maika" in Korean. I'm pretty sure some Japanese Christians have altered the western Latin spelling to be easily pronounced in their language. + 71.102.7.77 (talk) 00:43, 4 February 2010 (UTC)

Italian and Sicilian
Would someone who is able to edit the article please add the Italian version, Michele (mee-KEH-leh), and the Sicilian version, Micheli (mee-KEH-lee), with the diminutive Michiluzzu (mee-kee-LOO-tsoo).

Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.160.129.190 (talk) 20:20, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

Michas
Edit semi-protected

Please add the following in the "Short forms and other versions" section:

Michas (Міхась) is Belarusian. — Preceding unsigned comment added by InfernoPublicus (talk • contribs)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: You should be able to edit the article yourself. -Atmoz (talk) 16:58, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

Edit request from 66.109.60.52, 13 April 2011
Can you please add Miljenko to the list? It is the Croatian form of Michael.

66.109.60.52 (talk) 00:53, 13 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. — Bility (talk) 16:29, 13 April 2011 (UTC)

Edit request - Michael 3rd most popular as of 2009
edit semi-protected

Per the source already cited in the article, Michael is now, as of 2009, the third most popular baby name in the US. The article implies it is still first or second, which is no longer true. Please change "first or second" to "first, second, or third," or some other suitable change. 128.186.73.153 (talk) 19:52, 28 April 2011 (UTC)


 * ✅ I put "top three". C T J F 8 3  20:19, 28 April 2011 (UTC)

Female vs feminine
The article mentions "female" forms of "Michael". I think this should be "feminine" instead of "female". The word "Michael" doesn't have a vagina, so it isn't female. It's feminine. I'm being facetious there (and I don't want to start a discussion about what defines biological sex, which is a huge, poorly-defined can of worms), but I think the sex/gender distinction is important. 96.49.34.69 (talk) 18:18, 5 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I believe that usage favours "female name." Both the OED and Merriam-Webster give "female name" as examples of usage of the term "female." Also, there are over one billion uses of "female name" on the Internet, according to Google. Sunray (talk) 18:54, 5 October 2011 (UTC)

That question mark again
I agree that the the original text has an interrogative form, since most scholars seem to agree on the point, but adding the question mark after "who is like God" is a literal translation, not a meaning.

I think the meaning should omit the question mark, something like "who is like God*" or "who resembles God*". With an asterisk note detailing the meaning of the question mark, i.e.:

If that's what the question mark means. I haven't seen any real explanation on this question mark. It could just as well mean that Michael shares some traits with God, like he is as gentle as God or he has the same hairdresser for all I know.
 * with the implicit meaning that nobody can be like God.

The note is probably useless, since nobody would assume that someone could be like God. The meaning "who resembles God" makes that distinction already and could omit the question mark and the note.

Even "who is like God" seems to be a literal translation rather than a meaning. It's already ambiguous enough as it is, it's even worse when you add a question mark, making the English meaning sound like a question, like the meaning itself is at doubt, and Michael is not like God.

I would like to see a real meaning in the article, beside the literal translation and etymology. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Chimel31 (talk • contribs) 17:50, 11 March 2012 (UTC)