Michel
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from French, equivalent to English Michael. Either a reborrowing of French Michel or a continuation (with pronunciation influenced by Modern French) of Middle English Michel, both from Old French Michel, from Latin Michāēl, borrowed from Koine Greek Μῐχᾱήλ (Mĭkhāḗl), from Biblical Hebrew מִיכָאֵל (mîḵāʾēl, literally “who is like God?”). Doublet of Michael, Miguel, and Mikhail.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Michel (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Michel has been rising over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 1999. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 16 |
| 1999 | 19 |
| 2000 | 17 |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | 16 |
| 2003 | 11 |
| 2004 | 13 |
| 2005 | 14 |
| 2006 | 7 |
| 2007 | 8 |
| 2008 | 6 |
| 2009 | 9 |
| 2010 | 6 |
| 2011 | 4 |
| 2012 | 5 |
| 2013 | 7 |
| 2014 | 6 |
| 2015 | – |
| 2016 | 6 |
| 2017 | 5 |
| 2018 | 10 |
| 2019 | 4 |
| 2020 | 6 |
| 2021 | 8 |
| 2022 | 4 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls | Men and boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | – | 1,212 |
| 2000 | – | 1,232 |
| 2001 | – | 1,244 |
| 2002 | – | 1,272 |
| 2003 | – | 1,288 |
| 2004 | – | 1,300 |
| 2005 | 10 | 1,317 |
| 2006 | – | 1,341 |
| 2007 | – | 1,359 |
| 2008 | – | 1,389 |
| 2009 | – | 1,405 |
| 2010 | – | 1,413 |
| 2011 | 10 | 1,423 |
| 2012 | 11 | 1,428 |
| 2013 | 11 | 1,457 |
| 2014 | 12 | 1,471 |
| 2015 | 14 | 1,479 |
| 2016 | 15 | 1,494 |
| 2017 | 15 | 1,497 |
| 2018 | 15 | 1,512 |
| 2019 | 15 | 1,524 |
| 2020 | 15 | 1,534 |
Michel in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Michel.Hi! My name is Michel.
- Michel bor i Umeå och jobbar som snickare.Michel lives in Umeå and works as a carpenter.
- Jag ska fika med Michel i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Michel this afternoon.
- Michels mamma är lärare.Michel's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Michels mamma is Michel's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Michel
How do you pronounce Michel in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Michel in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Michel mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from French, equivalent to English Michael. Either a reborrowing of French Michel or a continuation (with pronunciation influenced by Modern French) of Middle English Michel, both from Old French Michel, from Latin Michāēl, borrowed from Koine Greek Μῐχᾱήλ (Mĭkhāḗl), from Biblical Hebrew מִיכָאֵל (mîḵāʾēl, literally “who is like God?”). Doublet of Michael, Miguel, and Mikhail.
How popular is Michel in Sweden?
4 babies were named Michel in 2022. In 2020, 1,549 people in Sweden had Michel as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been rising lately and peaked in 1999 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.