Mitchell (surname)

Mitchell or Mitchel is an English and Scottish surname with two etymological origins. In some cases the name is derived from the Middle English and Old French (Norman French) name Michel, a vernacular form of the name Michael. The personal name Michael is ultimately derived from a Hebrew name, meaning "Who is like God". In other cases the surname Mitchell is derived from the Middle English (Saxon and Anglian) words michel, mechel, and muchel, meaning "big". In some cases, the surname Mitchell was adopted as an equivalent of Mulvihill; this English-language surname is derived from the Irish-language Ó Maoil Mhichíl, meaning "descendant of the devotee of St. Michael".