Michael

/ˈmaɪkəl/

//ˈmaɪkəl// name

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"michael" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Michael” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #880. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#880
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A male given name from Hebrew.

Corpus desk

Index EN-michael · Michael · English

Michael · rank #880 · 9 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #880
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH lose

Nearest frequency peer: lose (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Michael”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Michael” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Michael vs Michel
86% similar
Michael vs Michal
86% similar
Michael vs Michele
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Michael
PropertyValue
HeadwordMichael
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈmaɪkəl/
Letters7
Frequency rank#880
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Michael”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).Michaellands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “lose” (#879), “pick” (#881), “legal” (#878). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “Michael” is #880. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around Michael (IPA /ˈmaɪkəl/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #880 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for Michael, with forms such as "imchael", "mcihael", and "micahel". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 8 confusable-pair relationships, "Michel", "Michal", "Michele", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English Michael, from Old French Michel, Old English Michahel, and directly from their source Latin Michaēl, from Ancient Greek Μῐχᾱήλ (Mĭkhāḗl), from Biblical Hebrew מִיכָאֵל (mîḵāʾēl, literally “who is like God?”). Doublet of Miguel and Mikhail. The correct English form is Michael, spelled M-I-C-H-A-E-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A male given name from Hebrew.
  2. 2
    An archangel associated with defending the faithful in the tribulation.
  3. 3
    A surname transferred from the given name.
  4. 4
    A parish and sheading of the Isle of Man.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Michael appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Yea, it seems to me not fit for Christian humility to call a man Gabriel or Michael, giving the names of angels to the sons of mortality.
  2. He works in the steelworks, the boyfriend, on the factory floor. I'd say that was quite unusual, he's called Michael. Insists on that, he does, not being called Mike or Micky or Mick, pretends not to hear you, then, "No, my name's actually Michael."

Etymology

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

This word in other languages

Miguel(Español)Michel(Français)Michael(Deutsch)Miguel(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • imchael
  • mcihael
  • micahel
  • micchael
  • michaell
  • michale
  • michhael
  • mihcael
  • mmichael

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Michael - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

imchael2mcihael2micahel2micchael1michaell1michale2michhael1mihcael2
Edit distance from "Michael"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Michael"?
"Michael" is spelled M-I-C-H-A-E-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmaɪkəl/.
What does "Michael" mean?
As a proper noun, "Michael" means: A male given name from Hebrew.
What words are commonly confused with "Michael"?
"Michael" is commonly confused with "Michel", "Michal", "Michele". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Michael"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Michael" is /ˈmaɪkəl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "Michael"?
From Middle English Michael, from Old French Michel, Old English Michahel, and directly from their source Latin Michaēl, from Ancient Greek Μῐχᾱήλ (Mĭkhāḗl), from Biblical Hebrew מִיכָאֵל (mîḵāʾēl, literally “who is like God?”). Doublet of Miguel ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Michael", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

foreign#875council#866changed#897written#861

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

simple9 variantsevents9 variantsturned9 variantsrelease9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list