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 Mikhail is most popular
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.
-
Masovian30 boys born+158%
-
Lower Silesian10 boys born+94%
-
West Pomeranian5 boys born+80%
-
Pomeranian6 boys born+24%
-
Podlaskie2 boys born−7%
-
Greater Poland6 boys born−15%
-
Lesser Poland6 boys born−20%
-
Kuyavian-Pomeranian2 boys born−44%
-
Silesian4 boys born−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).
-
#2533 Maurizio14
-
#2534 Menahem14
-
#2535 Mikhail14
-
#2536 Milano14
-
#2537 Ming14