The McMichael surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,392 people carried this name — #4,785 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 39,800 people counted. That is up 2% from 7,271 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the McMichael surname

Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Mìcheil (“son of Michael”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «McMichael» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 5 births for the McMichael name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 200 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 5

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

30 families named McMichael, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 197 people lived in those households, 6.6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 7 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 19
New York 8
Maine 1
North Carolina 1
South Carolina 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 253 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

McMichael in American newspapers,
1909–1913.

Newspaper page from The Commercial carrying the name McMichael
The Commercial 1910-02-04
Newspaper page from The Commercial carrying the name McMichael
The Commercial 1909-12-17
Newspaper page from Grant County Herald carrying the name McMichael
Grant County Herald 1913-08-20

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 18,571 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McMichael in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

4,430 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McMichael. The most, 846, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in South Australia, at 4.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 2,340
Victoria 773
New South Wales 614
Western Australia 279
Tasmania 243
Queensland 135
ACT (Canberra) 43

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McMichael.

Who carried it

People named McMichael,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Morton McMichael
    Morton McMichael 1807–1879 · journalist
  • Samuel McMichael
    Samuel McMichael 1869–1923 · Australian rules football player
  • Alf McMichael 1927–2006 · association football player
  • Steve McMichael 1957–2025 · American football player
  • Dan McMichael 1850–1919 · association football player
  • John McMichael 1904–1993 · cardiologist

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0.

In the public record

People named McMichael,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States664 records

664 records of the McMichael name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 291
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 127
  • Other U.S. records 246
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Leonard A. McMichael

    Born 1921 in Alabama. Enlisted 1942 at Fort McClellan; textile mill worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1998, buried at Biloxi National Cemetery, Mississippi.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Martha McMichael

    Arrived at New York in 1851 aboard the Princeton from Liverpool, aged 30; domestic. From Antrim, Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Richard C. McMichael

    Born 1931; from Los Angeles, California. U.S. Marine Corps; declared dead 1953 in Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 664 records for McMichael in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia212 records

212 records of the McMichael name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 110
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 44
  • Other Australian records 58
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Owen McMichael

    Arrived in Victoria in 1859 aboard the Champion of the Seas, aged 25; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Alfred A. McMichael

    Former grazier of Heyfield, Victoria; died 1939.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Arthur McMichael

    Left Hobart in 1857 aboard the City of Hobart, bound for Melbourne.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 212 records for McMichael in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0).

Canada70 records

70 records of the McMichael name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 57
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 4
  • Other Canadian records 9
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Horatio James McMichael

    Died 1960 in Porters Lake, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Collin Campbell McMichael

    Died 1992; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record William Alexander McMichael

    Died in service in 1916.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 70 records for McMichael in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom13 records

13 records of the McMichael name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 7
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 4
  • Other British records 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William McMichael

    Buried in 1898 at Callander Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 51.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. McMichael

    Scots Guards. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Jessie McMichael

    Buried in 1977 at Callander Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 88.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 13 records for McMichael in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McMichael.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McMichael is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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