Males named מיכל?

Question

Where does the male name מיכל (as in יחיאל מיכל) come from? Is it a diminutive/corruption/translation/elision of מיכאל, derived therefrom in some other way, or simply a false cognate?

Terumat HaDeshen 231 discusses this https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%AA%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%9E%D7%AA_%D7%94%D7%93%D7%A9%D7%9F/%D7%90/%D7%A8%D7%9C%D7%90 — Double AA, Nov 17 '16 at 21:00

score 12 · Answer 1 · edited Feb 14 '12 at 07:54

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לפי תלמוד בבלי מסכת עירובין צו. מיכל בת שאול הניחה תפלין. האר"י מסביר זאת בכך שהייתה לה נשמה מעלמא דדכורא = נשמה מעולם הזכרים.‏

http://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%9B%D7%9C

Maybe that is how the name became a male name?

edited Feb 14 '12 at 07:54

msh210

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answered Dec 12 '10 at 18:28

Gershon Gold

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Wow. This is a compelling find (if not etymological)! – WAF Dec 12 '10 at 22:18
Very intresting – SimchasTorah Dec 13 '10 at 00:27
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I can imagine this being used by some people nowadays to advocate certain things that most frum Jews don't support. – Daniel Aug 01 '12 at 03:38

score 11 · Accepted Answer · edited Jan 17 '12 at 21:50

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In Igros Moshe Orach Chaim 5:10:2 Reb Moshe ZaTzaL writes that Michel is a Kinui (nickname) for Yechiel.

edited Jan 17 '12 at 21:50

Double AA

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answered Dec 13 '10 at 02:44

Gershon Gold

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and that would explain why the combination יחיאל מיכל is so common – Jeremy Dec 13 '10 at 14:54
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how does this answer the question? What is its etymology? – mevaqesh Dec 19 '16 at 01:14

score 9 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 12 '10 at 21:16

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Michel (emphasis on the first syllable) is a German form of Michael (says Wikipedia)

answered Dec 12 '10 at 21:16

Chanoch

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Agreeing with the general thrust here. The Yiddish ['mɪxʌl] was just a corruption of "Michael", unrelated to the Hebrew girls' name [mi'xal]. – Shalom Dec 13 '10 at 02:44

score 6 · Answer 4 · answered Feb 14 '12 at 08:15

Aruch Hashulchan, Even Haezer 129, writes (in my own loose translation with uncertain translations marked with question marks in brackets [thus?]):

[We spell the name] "יחיאל". And some are nicknamed "מיכל", so we write [in a get] "יחיאל, who's nicknamed מיכל". Even though מיכל is a [non-nick name?], like "מיכל בת שאול" and like "מיכל מים", still and all, this name is based on a different understanding: Earlier, they'd call יחיאל ‎"חיאל" for short; this [evolved?] into calling him "איחל", which [evolved?] into calling him "מיכל". And don't say that we should therefore write "מיחל", with a ches, as I've already brought the words of the Rama that it's better to write with a chaf than with a ches [a foreign name, "because there are places that read a ches like a he and there'll be a change in the name"], and that's how everyone practices already. However, in any event, since this isn't from the name "מיכל" which is in Tanach, we write "who's nicknamed" and not "who's called".

Worth noting that the Aruch Hashulchan himself was named Yechiel Michel. — Double AA, Apr 08 '13 at 00:10

score 3 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 13 '10 at 04:24

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Sorry that I don't have a written source for this, however, I have heard this from several Lubavitchers, including the Rosh Yeshiva of the Tzemach Tzedek Yeshiva in Jerusalem. Essentially the Admur of Lubavitch, in one of his sichot made a statement that the alef may be corruption of the name, and thus it should be pronounced as if the alef were not there. I have met at one Lubavitcher that was named Michal(minus the alef) on account of that.

answered Dec 13 '10 at 04:24

Rabbi Michael Tzadok

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How in earth (no pun intended) is the name of the angel Mi-Ka-El a corruption? – Seth J Jan 18 '12 at 02:05

Males named מיכל?

5 Answers5