Find out how popular the last name Michell is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Michell.

Michell, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Michell surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Michell in America

Michell is the 11605th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Michell surname appeared 2,705 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Michell.

We can also compare 2010 data for Michell to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Michell

The surname Michell has its origins in the British Isles, specifically in England and Scotland. It is believed to have derived from the Old English and Old French words "Michel" and "Michiel," which were variants of the name Michael. These names were originally derived from the Hebrew name "Mikhael," meaning "who is like God."

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Michell date back to the 12th century. One of the earliest known bearers was William Michell, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1185. The surname was also recorded in the Hundredorum Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, where it appeared as "Michell."

During the Middle Ages, the surname Michell was primarily concentrated in the counties of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, and Wiltshire. It was also found in the Scottish Lowlands, particularly in the regions of Ayrshire and Lanarkshire.

In the 14th century, the surname appeared in various historical records, including the Chancery Rolls of 1396, where it was spelled "Mychell." The Michell family was also mentioned in the Wiltshire Visitation of 1623, which documented the lineage of noble families in the county.

One notable bearer of the surname was Sir Francis Michell (1508-1608), an English judge and Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He served as a Justice of the Common Pleas and was known for his legal expertise.

Another prominent figure was John Michell (1724-1793), an English natural philosopher and geologist. He is best known for his pioneering work in the study of geology and his hypotheses about the internal structure of the Earth. Michell also made significant contributions to the fields of astronomy and physics.

In the 18th century, the surname Michell was associated with the village of Micheldever in Hampshire, which derived its name from the Old English words "mycel" (great) and "yfere" (shore or bank).

Other notable individuals with the surname Michell include:

1. Walter Michell (1385-1462), an English lawyer and Member of Parliament for Somerset.
2. Robert Michell (1610-1677), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis.
3. Joseph Michell (1757-1840), an English sculptor known for his neo-classical works.
4. John Michell (1789-1865), an English engineer and inventor who contributed to the development of the screw propeller for ships.
5. Nancy Michell (1901-1976), a British author and playwright known for her novels and plays set in rural England.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Michell

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Michell.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Michell was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Michell has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Michell was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Michell, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!