| Name | Michaela |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| Meaning | Feminine form of Michael, meaning "who is like God." |
| Origin | Hebrew |
| Related names | Michael, Michelle, Michel, Mishelle, Michele, Mishele, |
It was rare in any country until it became fashionable in Germany and Austria in the 1950s and 1960s,and 1970s. Its use spread to Middle and North Europe, then the United Kingdom and the United States, where its popularity peaked in 1997, the year in which the popular TV series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman first aired in the U.S. with its lead character Michaela Quinn. As of 2008, it was 357th in rank for newborn girls in the United States. The name's popularity in Britain may have been influenced by the success of wildlife documentary presenter Michaela Finlay, who was seen widely on TV in the UK after the mid 1950s. The name was not among the top 100 newborn girls' names in England and Wales in the period 2003–2007.
Spelling variants include Michaela, Michala, Michela, Mekala, Micaila, Michaella, Michaelia, Michayla, Micayla, Mikayla, Makayla, Mackayla, Mikaela, Macayla, Mikaila, Makaila, Micaela and Mckayla. Diminutive forms include Kayla, Mickey, Mickie, Mikey, Miky, Mica, Mika, and Mike.
Michela is the Italian form of the name, and Mikaela is the Scandinavian and Albanian form, Michaela in the German form, while Micaela is the Spanish and French, and Miguelina is also used in Spain and Portugal. In the Netherlands, the forms Michaëla, Michaela, Michaëlla and Michaella are used. Mihaela or Mikala are the Romanian forms, with Mihaela being the more traditional and Mikala and Makayla the moderns. It can also appear as Mikhaila, Machaila or Mikaylah. The name has several pronunciations, the usual English versions being Mi-KAY-la or mi-KAI-la; others include mee-KAH-AY-lah (German) and mee-KAH-ee-lah (Italian).
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