- published: 09 Jan 2014
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Michael ( /ˈmaɪkəl/) is a given name that comes from the Hebrew: מִיכָאֵל / מיכאל (Mikha'el), derived from the Hebrew question מי כמו אלוהים? (Hebrew pronunciation: [mi kəmo ʔelohim]) meaning "Who is like God?" In English, it is sometimes shortened to Mike, Mikey, or, especially in Ireland, Mick. In Russian language, it is Mikhail and Mykhailo in Ukrainian.
Female forms of Michael include Michèle, Michelle, Michaela, Mechelle, Micheline, and Michaelle, although Michael is occasionally seen as a female name, with women named Michael including actresses Michael Learned and Michael Michele. Another form is Mychal, which can either be a male or female name. Surnames that come from Michael include Carmichael, Dimichele, MacMichael, McMichael, Micallef, Michaelson, Mikhaylov, Mykhaylenko, Michaels and Mitchell.
The name first appears in the Bible, Numbers 13:13, where Sethur the son of Michael is one of twelve spies sent into the Land of Canaan. The Archangel Michael, referred to later in the Bible (Daniel 12:1), is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church. 29 September is the feast day of the three archangels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael.
Abraham "Bram" Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula. During his lifetime, he was better known as personal assistant of actor Henry Irving and business manager of the Lyceum Theatre in London, which Irving owned.
Stoker was born on 8 November 1847 at 15 Marino Crescent, Clontarf, on the northside of Dublin, Ireland. His parents were Abraham Stoker (1799–1876), from Dublin, and Charlotte Mathilda Blake Thornley (1818–1901), who came from Ballyshannon, County Donegal. Stoker was the third of seven children. Abraham and Charlotte were members of the Church of Ireland Parish of Clontarf and attended the parish church with their children, who were baptised there.
Stoker was bed-ridden until he started school at the age of seven, when he made a complete recovery. Of this time, Stoker wrote, "I was naturally thoughtful, and the leisure of long illness gave opportunity for many thoughts which were fruitful according to their kind in later years." He was educated in a private school run by the Rev. William Woods.