ENGLISH
REFERENCE

michelle

n. countable
A1 Beginner US //mɪˈʃɛɫ// michelle
Definition

n. a common name for a woman or girl. It is the French version of the name Michael.

n. a female given name of French origin, serving as the feminine form of Michel or Michael.


SIMPLE

Michelle is my best friend from school.

CONTEXTUAL

The manager introduced Michelle as the new head of the marketing department during the morning meeting.

COMPLEX

While the name has seen varying levels of popularity across different decades, Michelle remains a classic choice in many English-speaking and Francophone countries.

Origin

Borrowed from French Michelle, feminine form of French Michel (“Michael”), Hebrew מִיכָאֵל (mikhaél, “who is like God?”). Doublet of Michaela.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Usage

As a proper noun, it is almost always capitalized.

Last updated May 2, 2026