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Michaels History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Michaels History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Norway
Scotland
Ireland

The distinguished surname Michaels is one of the many names that first came to England in the wake of the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name is derived from the given name "Michel," meaning "who is like God." 1 One source notes of another possible origin: "Anglo-Saxon mycel, great, or mickle, would be a tolerably satisfactory etymon, and this may in some instances be the origin of the surname; but I think in most cases it is derived from Michael, a very popular baptismal name in many countries, through its French form, Michel." 2

Early Origins of the Michaels family

The surname Michaels was first found in many places throughout ancient Britain. As if to underscore this claim, the following entries were found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273: Hugh filius Micahel in Lincolnshire; Roger Michel in Norfolk; and as a forename, Mikael de Brackele in London. Years later, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed the following: Johannes Michelson; Thomas Michilson and Adam Michelson. 3

Michele Michael was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Somerset in 1327. Michel de Whepstede was recorded in Punchbeck, Suffolk in 1327. The Curia Regis Rolls for Northumberland listed Gilbert Michel in 1205, while the same rolls for Somerset recorded Robert Michel in Somerset in 1219. 4

"In 1198 Michael de Middelton' held a quarter of a carucate in Middleton, Wiltshire by service of keeping the king's wolf-hounds (Fees). About 1219 William Michel received per day for keeping two wolf-hounds and in 1236 Richard Michel held a cotset in Middleton for a similar service. The relationship between the three men is not stated but it appears a reasonable assumption that they were of the same family and that Michaelde Middleton had two sons who derived their surname Michel from their father's Christian name." 4

The name was "distributed over England, but far more frequent in the south. Its home, par excellence, is in the county of Cornwall, where in nearly half the instances it is written Michell, though the pronunciation is the same. Its other homes are in Sussex, Wilts, and in the West Riding. Its prevalence in Cornwall is due to the fact that several parishes and places in the county bear the name of St. Michael in one form or another." 5

In Devon, Thomas Mitchell was Warden of St Mary's College, Ottery St Mary in 1511.

Early History of the Michaels family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Michaels research. Another 136 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1068, 1320, 1344, 1384, 1438, 1586, 1624, 1635, 1647, 1649, 1650, 1661, 1662, 1668, 1672, 1696, 1740, 1745, 1816 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Michaels History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Michaels Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Mitchell, Michel, Michell, Mitchill, Mychell, Mitcham and many more.

Early Notables of the Michaels family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Jonathan Mitchel (1624?-1668), New England divine, born in Halifax, Yorkshire, about 1624, was son of Matthew Mitchel. He accompanied his parents to America in 1635, graduated at Harvard in 1647, and on 24 June 1649 preached at Hartford, Connecticut, with such acceptance that he was invited to succeed Thomas Hooker (1586-1647). This offer he declined. In May 1650 he was elected fellow of Harvard, and appears to have acted as tutor. In June 1661 he was one of the committee appointed to defend the privileges of the colony, then...
Another 97 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Michaels Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Michaels Ranking

In the United States, the name Michaels is the 2,373^rd most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 6 However, in South Africa, the name Michaels is ranked the 971^st most popular surname with an estimated 7,022 people with that name. 7

Migration of the Michaels family to Ireland

Some of the Michaels family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 137 words (10 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Michaels migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Michaels Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Carle Vallenthien Michaels, who sailed to Philadelphia in 1730
Carl Val Michaels, who arrived in America in 1730 8

Michaels Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John P Michaels, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1806 8
Johan Michaels, aged 26, who arrived in New York, NY in 1849 8
August Michaels, who landed in New York, NY in 1850 8

Michaels migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Michaels Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Michael Michaels, British convict who was convicted in London, England for life, transported aboard the "Calcutta" in February 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Michaels (post 1700) +

Lorne Michaels CM (b. 1944), born Lorne Lipowitz, a Canadian raised-American thirteen-time Emmy Award winning television producer, writer, comedian, and actor, best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live, the Late Night series and The Tonight Show; awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016
Alan Richard "Al" Michaels (b. 1944), American television play-by-play sportscaster for Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video and in an emeritus role for NBC Sports
Patrick J Michaels (1950-2022), American Research Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia
Mish Michaels (d. 2022), American broadcast meteorologist, environmental reporter and author, born in Kolkata, India
Lou Michaels (1935-2016), American NFL football player who played from 1958 to 1971, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992
Frankie Michaels (1955-2016), American singer and actor of stage, film and television, th youngest person to win a Tony award at age ten for his performance in Mame in 1966
William Mayes "Bill" Michaels (1876-1934), American bronze medalist for boxing at the 1904 Olympics
Leonard Michaels (1933-2003), American writer
Juanita Marcus Michaels, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from New Mexico, 1972
J. H. Michaels, American politician, Member of South Dakota State House of Representatives 28th District, 1895-98, 1905-06
... (Another 10 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Most Common Last Names in South Africa." Forebears, https://forebears.io/south-africa/surnames
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/calcutta