MEANING & HISTORY
What does Michelle mean?
Michelle is the feminine counterpart of French Michel, which comes from Michael. The older Hebrew name is a question, who is like God?, rather than the assertion that its bearer resembles God.
The French feminine ending gives this form its own linguistic history. Its international popularity grew in the twentieth century, but the question expressed by the underlying Michael belongs to a much older biblical name tradition.
Pronunciation & syllables
Synthetic voice reading
Wiktionary / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
French
Dictionary accounts by language
English
Borrowed from French Michelle, feminine form of French Michel (“Michael”), Hebrew מִיכָאֵל (mikhaél, “who is like God?”). Doublet of Michaela.
A female given name from Hebrew, popular from the 1960s to the 1990s.
Wiktionary: Michelle (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract; common glosses translated for Filipino.
People with the name Michelle
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Michelle Braun
Filipino model
Descriptions: Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Similar names to Michelle
Explore names with a similar opening or ending.
Names in this collection
- Michele♀Who is like God?; a Michael-family form
- Michaella♀Variant of Michaela; who is like God?
- Mitchell♂Surname from Michel or a medieval big nickname
- Rachelle♀Form of Rachel, from Hebrew “ewe”
- Rochelle♀French place-name form meaning little rock
- Giselle♀Pledge or hostage; French-transmitted form
- Marielle♀French familiar form of Marie
- Michael♂Who is like God?
What rhymes with Michelle?
Dictionary rhyme matches for the readings shown.
Explore Michelle further
Records & sources
Recorded use
- Wikidata
- 10 person records with this given name · Q15621047 · CC0
These records document use of the spelling; they are separate from birth statistics.
Follow the sources
- Wikidata given-name item Q15621047 — Michelle (opens in a new tab)
- Wikidata — Michelle Braun (opens in a new tab)
- Wikidata — Michelle Camaclang (opens in a new tab)
- Wiktionary contributors — Michelle (English) (opens in a new tab)
- Behind the Name — Michelle (opens in a new tab)
- Behind the Name — Michel (opens in a new tab)
- Behind the Name — Michael (opens in a new tab)