Where does “Mikhail” come from?
Mikhail comes from Russian Михаи́л, from Hebrew מיכאל, ultimately from Hebrew אֵל and Proto-Semitic ʾil-, meaning god or deity.
Ancestry of “Mikhail”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Russian | Михаи́л | Michael; a usual name of a bear |
| 2 | Old Church Slavonic | Михаилъ | — |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | Μιχαήλ | — |
| 4 | Hebrew | מיכאל | who is like God? |
| 5 | Hebrew | אֵל | a God; God, deity; god, God |
| 6 | Hebrew | שמואל | — |
| 7 | Hebrew | שְׁמוּאֵל | — |