CARMICHAEL
Carmichael is a Scottish surname of Gaelic origin. It derives from the Gaelic personal name MacGilleMhicheil, meaning “son of the servant of St. Michael”. The construction of the name reflects a Christian devotion and suggests that the first bearers were likely associated with the Church or devoted to the archangel.
The name is also a locational identifier, coming from the parish of Carmichael in Lanarkshire. The earliest recorded use of a form of the family name appears in the year 1225 as William de Creimechel in the Liber Cartarum Sancte Crucis of Edinburgh, during the reign of King Alexander the First (1214–1249). This early record confirms that the surname has a documented presence in the British Isles since the early thirteenth century.
The Gaelic elements of the name are clear: mac meaning “son”, gille meaning “servant”, and the personal name Michael is retained in its original form. Over time the name morphed into the modern spelling Carmichael, but a variety of historic spellings have been encountered, including Carmechele, Carmigell, and Carmichaill.
Records of individuals bearing the surname appear in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In 1634 Anne, daughter of Robert and Anne Carmichaell, was christened at St. Dunstan, Stepney. The following year, on 10 July 1635, Martha, daughter of John and Jane Carmichel, was christened at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster. A further example is John, son of John and Mary Carmichael, who was christened on 25 June 1704 at the same Westminster parish.
In the mid-nineteenth century the Carmichael family expanded beyond the British Isles. On 20 November 1846 the family of John Carmichael, his wife Isabella, and their children Joseph, Isaac, John, Samuel and Susanna, together with other famine emigrants, departed Liverpool aboard the Henry bound for New York. This voyage illustrates the spread of the surname to North America and other English‑speaking regions during the late nineteenth century.
Today the surname remains most common in Scotland and is also found throughout the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Its strong Gaelic and Christian heritage continues to be a point of interest for genealogical research and cultural studies of Scottish diaspora communities.
Typical given names associated with the Carmichael surname
Male
- Alexander
- Andrew
- David
- Ian
- James
- John
- Paul
- Peter
- Robert
- William
Female
- Carol
- Catherine
- Claire
- Elaine
- Elizabeth
- Helen
- Jane
- Julie
- Karen
- Margaret
- Mary
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Carmichael in...
Braille
⠉⠁⠗⠍⠊⠉⠓⠁⠑⠇
Morse
-.-..-.-.--..-.-......-..-..
Semaphore
There are approximately 8,007 people named Carmichael in the UK. That makes it roughly the 1,180th most common surname in Britain. Around 123 in a million people in Britain are named Carmichael.
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Scotland
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Gaelic
Famous people named Carmichael
- Laura Carmichael - Actress
- Amy Carmichael - Missionary in India (1867 to 1951)
- Alistair Carmichael - Politician
- Ian Carmichael - Actor (1920 to 2010)
- Neil Carmichael - Conservative politician
- Peter Carmichael - Royal Navy officer (1923 to 1997)
- Sandy Carmichael - Scottish rugby union player
- Dan Carmichael - Scottish football player
- Matt Carmichael - Football player
- Greg Carmichael - Musician
- Neil Carmichael, Baron Carmichael of Kelvingrove - Labour politician (1921 to 2001)
- Ian Carmichael - Musician
- Josh Carmichael - Football player
- John Carmichael - Recipient of the Victoria Cross (1893 to 1977)
- James Wilson Carmichael - Marine painter (1800 to 1868)
- James Carmichael - Scottish Labour politician (1894 to 1966)
- Alexander Carmichael - Writer (1832 to 1912)
- Malcolm Carmichael - Rower
- Jack Carmichael - Football player
- Jimmy Carmichael - Football player (1894 to 1)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.