The Michaels surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 17,528 people carried this name — #2,057 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 16,800 people counted. That is up 5% from 16,696 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Michaels surname

Variant of Michael with patronymic genitival or post-medieval excrescent -s.

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

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Michael’.

An early record he cites: Hugh fil. Micahel, Lincolnshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls. Fil. is Latin for “son of”.

His entry covers Michael, Michaels and Michaelson.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 530 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

In 1790, Michaels was counted together with Michael: 132 families in all.

Each family is counted by its head. About 782 people lived in those households, 5.9 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: Michael, Micael, Mical, Michaels, Michal, Michall, Michals, Michel, Michell, Michill, Michl, Michˡ, Michle, Mickel, Mickell, Mickle, Mickles, Mihael, Mikell. 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 57
North Carolina 22
South Carolina 16
Maryland 12
New York 11
Virginia 5
Maine 4
Massachusetts 4
Vermont 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

Michaels in American newspapers,
1915–1925.

Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Michaels
Daily Kennebec Journal 1915-01-20
Newspaper page from Cut Bank Pioneer Press carrying the name Michaels
Cut Bank Pioneer Press 1915-07-09
Newspaper page from San Antonio Light carrying the name Michaels
San Antonio Light 1925-12-30

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 32,346 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Michaels in Australian newspapers,
1810s–1990s.

2,027 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Michaels. The most, 466, 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 Victoria, at 2.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 922
Western Australia 386
New South Wales 316
South Australia 176
Queensland 165
Tasmania 30
ACT (Canberra) 13
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Michaels,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Ilse Fromm-Michaels
    Ilse Fromm-Michaels 1888–1986 · composer
  • Robyn Bridgman d. 2026 · community leader
  • Serge Michaels d. 2009 · background artist
  • Eliza Gallaher 1838–1936
  • Alfred Michaels 1867–1943
  • Martha Michaels 1868–1888

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Michaels,
in the records of 7 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 States2,053 records

2,053 records of the Michaels name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 900
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 484
  • Other U.S. records 669
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Bernard R. Michaels

    Born 1922 in Colorado. Enlisted 1942 at Denver; stock clerk from Denver County. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery, Colorado.

    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 Minna Michaels

    Arrived at New York in 1866 aboard the Hansa from Bremen and Southampton, aged 38; farmer. From Potsdam, Germany.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record John Jay Michaels

    Born 1949; from Gouldsboro, Pennsylvania. U.S. Marine Corps, machinegunner; killed in action 1968 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

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

Showing 3 of 2,053 records for Michaels in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · 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).

Netherlands254 records

254 records of the Michaels name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 171
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 44
  • Dutch population registers 39
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Lucia Maria Michaels

    Born 1856 in Breda. Married in 1893 in Breda. Died 1941 in Breda.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record August Joseph Michaels

    Born 1821 in Breda. Married in 1852 in Breda.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Huberdina Johanna Michaëls

    Born 1852 in Breda. Died 1931 in Breda.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 254 records for Michaels in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Australia72 records

72 records of the Michaels name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 52
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 13
  • Other Australian records 7
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Michael Michaels

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Calcutta, arriving 1803.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Robt Michaels

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Earl of Derby, aged 23; Scottish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Reginald J. Michaels

    Commercial traveller of New Zealand; died 1949.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 72 records for Michaels 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). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); 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).

Germany42 records

42 records of the Michaels name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Otto Michaels

    From Behnkenhagen, Ribnitz. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 21 May 1918.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Ernst Michaels

    From Bristow, Malchin. Reported dead in the Prussian casualty list of 18 March 1919.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  3. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Bruno Michaels

    From Cöpenick. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 25 October 1918.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 3 of 42 records for Michaels in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Canada19 records

19 records of the Michaels name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 10
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 3
  • Other Canadian records 6
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Margery Michaels

    Buried in 1979 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 79.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Sadie Michaels

    Died 1966 in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  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 John Lewis Michaels

    Died in service in 1941.

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

Showing 3 of 19 records for Michaels in Canada.

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

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Michaels name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record C. Michaels

    Lancashire Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

France1 record

1 record of the Michaels name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Louise Michaels

    Born 1913 in Germany; died 2000 in Menton (Alpes-Maritimes).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Michaels.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Michaels 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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