Mikhail
A Russian form of Michael, from the Hebrew for "who is like God". Most Poles have never met one, but it's climbing: given to more boys now than a decade ago.
Mikhail Pronunciation
Mikhail is pronounced meek-KHAH-eel (/mikˈxail/).
What Mikhail means
Where Mikhail comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Mikhail begins in Hebrew, in the older name Mikha'el, and it asks a question instead of stating a fact. Who is like God? The Polish reading holds the same shape, któż jak bóg, a challenge that expects no reply.
The form Mikhail belongs to Russian above all. Tsar Michael, the first of the Romanovs, took the throne in 1613, and the name stayed close to Russian power and Russian letters for a long time after. Mikhail Bulgakov signed it under some of the strangest novels of the last century.
In a Polish class register the name reads plainly. A teacher calls it, a boy answers, and the old Hebrew question sits behind the roll unnoticed. Few children know that their name once argued with heaven. Fewer still need to.
The meaning has not softened. Któż jak bóg, who is like God, stays a question the name never lowers into a claim.
How many people are named Mikhail
1 in 4281 men in Poland is named Mikhail. 4,986 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #488 among male names.
Mikhail's popularity over time
20 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #515 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2011. Still the #488 name among living men, even as it slips to #515 among newborns.
Where parents choose Mikhail
Mikhail is most popular in Masovian, 158% above the national average (30 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Lower Silesian (+94%) and West Pomeranian (+80%). It is least common in Silesian and Kuyavian-Pomeranian, 47% and 44% below average respectively.
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Masovian
+158%1 in 11,809 babies
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Lower Silesian
+94%1 in 15,713 babies
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West Pomeranian
+80%1 in 16,885 babies
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Silesian
−47%1 in 56,896 babies
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian
−44%1 in 54,690 babies
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Lesser Poland
−20%1 in 37,819 babies
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Masovian+158% 30 born1 in 11,809 babies+158%
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Lower Silesian+94% 10 born1 in 15,713 babies+94%
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West Pomeranian+80% 5 born1 in 16,885 babies+80%
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Pomeranian+24% 6 born1 in 24,554 babies+24%
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Podlaskie−7% 2 born1 in 32,893 babies−7%
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Greater Poland−15% 6 born1 in 35,874 babies−15%
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Lesser Poland−20% 6 born1 in 37,819 babies−20%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian−44% 2 born1 in 54,690 babies−44%
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Silesian−47% 4 born1 in 56,896 babies−47%
Mikhail as a middle name
Mikhail is a first name for 4,986 men in Poland and a middle name for another 14, a 100/0 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 2535th, between Menahem (14) and Milano (14).
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#2533 Maurizio14
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#2534 Menahem14
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#2535 Mikhail14
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#2536 Milano14
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#2537 Ming14