Michaela
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michaela is an English, German, Czech, and Slovak given name. It is a feminine form of Michael, which means "who is like God?"[1]. It's Hebrew root is מִיכָאֵל consisting of the letters Mem, Yud, Chaf, Aleph, Lamed, and He.
It was rare in any country until it became fashionable in Germany in the 1960s and 1970s, e.g. German actress Michaela May. Its use spread to Middle and North Europe, then the United Kingdom and the United States, where its peak of popularity was in 1997 (which in the U.S. corresponded with the run of the popular TV series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, whose lead character was named Michaela Quinn). American spelling variants include Mikayla, Makayla, Macayla, and Mckayla, suggesting that some parents see it as an elaborated form of Kayla. In the UK, it is sometimes shortened to "Mickie" or "Mickey." A certain Makayla is also known for being Kind, beautiful,and funny. So the Meaning was changed to mean"Delicate Orchid"
Mikaela is the Scandinavian form of the name, while Micaela is the Spanish and Miguelina is also used in Spain and Portugal. Mihaela the Romanian form. It can also appear as Mikhaila. The name has several pronunciations, the most popular Mi-KAY-la also followed by mi-KAI-la (German), mee-KAH-ee-lah (Italian), and the very rare mih-KEL-lah.
[edit] References
- "Behind the Name"
- Duden: Lexikon der Vornamen. 2004.