Contents [hide]

Michel History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Michel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Czech
England
Germany
Scotland

The name Michel was born in the beautiful region of Bohemia, which is now part of Czechoslavakia. German surnames developed at a time when most of Bohemia, and most of the German provinces, were states of the Holy Roman Empire. At first people used only a single name, but as the population grew and people began to travel, they began to find it necessary to take on an additional name to distinguish themselves. Fairly general principles guided the development of hereditary surnames in Bohemia. The surname Michel derived from the given name Michael, which derives in turn from the Hebrew Mika'el. It is composed of "mi" meaning "who," "ke," meaning "like," and "El," a shortened form of "Eloin," meaning "God," with the whole meaning of "who is like God," or "God-like." The popularity of the name Michael resulted from the devotion to the various Judeo-Christian holy figures bearing this name.

Early Origins of the Michel family

The surname Michel was first found in Bohemia, where the name emerged in mediaeval times as one of the notable families of the region. From the 13th century the surname was identified with the great social and economic evolution which made this territory a landmark contributor to the development of the nation.

Early History of the Michel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Michel research. Another 183 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1592, 1645, 1652, 1657, 1755, 1786 and 1787 are included under the topic Early Michel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Michel Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Michael, Micheel, Michel, Meikle, Michler, Michaelis (Prussia), Michahelles (North Rhine) and many more.

Early Notables of the Michel family

During this early period, notable bearers of the name Michel included Tobias Michael (1592-1657), a German composer and kantor of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, updated the church's hymnal in...
Another 28 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Michel Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Michel World Ranking

In the United States, the name Michel is the 1,601^st most popular surname with an estimated 19,896 people with that name. 1 However, in Quebec, Canada, the name Michel is ranked the 530^th most popular surname. 2 And in France, the name Michel is the 14^th popular surname with an estimated 74,318 people with that name. 3

Michel migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Michel Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Franz Ludwig Michel, who settled in the Carolinas in 1701
Franz Ludwig Michel, who arrived in North Carolina in 1704 4
Johan Michel, who arrived in New York in 1709 4
Kasper Michel, who arrived in New York in 1709 4
Otto Henrig Michel, who landed in New York in 1709 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Michel Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Juan Michel, who arrived in America in 1810 4
John Michel, who landed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1812 4
Frances Michel, who landed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1829 4
George Michel, aged 52, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1832 4
Jacob Michel, aged 19, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1832 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Michel migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Michel Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Mr. Jean Michel, French settler travelling to Canada for work arriving on 1st April 1643 5
Andre Michel, who landed in Montreal in 1663

Michel Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Peter Michel, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1757
Mr. Carlman Michel U.E. who settled in Eastern District [Cornwall], Ontario c. 1784 6
Mr. Harvey Michel U.E. who settled in Eastern District [Cornwall], Ontario c. 1784 6

Michel Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Darius Michel, who arrived in Canada in 1836

Michel migration to Australia +

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

Michel Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

H. Michel, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Bardaster" in 1839 7

Michel migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Michel Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Michel, British settler travelling from London via Cape ports aboard the ship "Pembroke Castle" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 5th November 1889 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Michel (post 1700) +

Robert Henry "Bob" Michel (1923-2017), American Republican Party politician, House Minority Leader (1981-1995), recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994
Prakazrel Samuel "Pras" Michel (b. 1972), American two-time Grammy-winning American rapper
F. Curtis Michel (b. 1934), American astrophysicist and former NASA astronaut 9
Rolf Michel (b. 1945), German physicist
Anne Michel (1959-2023), Belgian sprinter
Pierre Michel (1929-2023), French cyclist
Francisco Javier Santana Michel (1958-2015), Mexican botanist
Georges Michel (1946-2022), French rugby union player for Tarbes Pyrénées Rugby (c. 1964-1973)
Andrée Michel (1920-2022), French sociologist, feminist, anticolonialist, and antimilitarist
Jean-Pierre Michel (1938-2021), French politician, member of the Senate of France, representing the Haute-Saône department from 2004 to 2014
... (Another 14 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Michel family +

Flight TWA 800

Mr. Pascal Luc Simon Michel (d. 1996), from Montpelier, France, French passenger flying aboard flight TWA 800 from J.F.K. Airport, New York to Leonardo da Vinci Airport, Rome when the plane crashed after takeoff ; he died in the crash 10

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"The first 1,000 family names by rank, Quebec (in French only)" Institut de la statistique du Quebec, https://statistique.quebec.ca/en/document/family-names-in-quebec/tableau/the-first-1000-family-names-by-rank-quebec
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
Debien, Gabriel. Liste Des Engagés Pour Le Canada Au XVIIe Siècle. Vol. 6, Laval University, 1952. (Retreived 24th May 2018). Retrieved from https://lebloguedeguyperron.wordpress.com/2016/06/30/130-liste-des-contrats-dengagement-pour-la-nouvelle-france-releves-a-la-rochelle-entre-1634-et-1679/
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) BARDASTER 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Bardcaster.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
NASA Astronauts Homepage. (Retrieved 2010, September 27) F. Michel. Retrieved from http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/michel-fc.html
The Washington Post Passenger List TWA Flight 800. (Retrieved 2018, February 15th). Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/twa800/list01.htm