Etymologists associate the origin of the name Mikheev with the name Mikhey. Its roots go back to the Hebrew language. It is derived from the name Michael. There are two more surnames formed from the short form of the latter - these are Mikhelev and Mikheykin. The origin and nationality of the surname Mikheev will be discussed in the article.
Equal to God
The origin of the surname Mikheev is based on the name Mikhey. It is formed from another, which is included in the baptismal canon. This name is Michael. In Hebrew, it means "equal to the God Yahweh" or "God-like." There are other forms of this name. These include:
- English Michael;
- Arabic Mikail;
- German Michel;
- Spanish Miguel;
- French Michelle.
Studying the history of the surname Mikheev, it should be said about the origin of the name, the full form of which gave it a start.
Head of the angelic host
Like many others, the name Michael is closely associated with the Holy Scriptures. Under it was originally known mentioned in the Bookprophet Daniel angel. In the Christian tradition, it means the Archangel Michael, the main among the angelic army, one of the most revered figures in the Bible.
In Orthodoxy, he, along with the holy host of angels, guards the law of God. Believers turn prayers to Michael for healing. This has to do with the fact that he is revered as the conqueror of evil spirits, which in Christianity are considered the source of disease.
Christians also believe that Archangel Michael was the cherub who stood at the gates of paradise, armed with a sword. This is reflected in the iconography, where he is usually depicted with a spear in one hand and a sphere-mirror in the other. The latter is a symbol of foresight given to the archangel by God.
The Orthodox Church has established the feast of the Cathedral, that is, the totality of holy angels, headed by the Archangel Michael. It falls on the eighth of November. According to one version, the founder of the Mikheev family could have been born on this very day, as a result of which he got his name.
Belonging to the genus
According to another version, the origin of the surname Mikheev refers directly to the name Mikhey. Among the ancient Slavs, the addition of the father's name to the name of a son or daughter denoted his belonging to one or another genus.
The reason for this was a small number of baptismal names in the calendar, so there were many people with the same name, which had to be distinguished. The solution to the problem of identification was precisely the addition of a personal name to a generic one.
Yes, childrenpeople who bore the indicated name were called "Mikheev's daughter" or son, hence the surname in question appears. The suffix "ev" refers to Russian patronymic particles that are part of surnames. He points out that the origin of the patronymic Mikheev dates back to the time that came no earlier than the 16th century.
The owners of the surname were at various levels of the social ladder. For many centuries, among them were peasants, merchants, nobles, Cossacks, representatives of the clergy, including the highest, the Old Believers.
Known, for example, is the family founded by Pyotr Mikheev, granted noble dignity in 1810. Its representatives are listed in the coat of arms of Russian noble families, which was established by Emperor Paul I in 1797. Among the famous namesakes is a poet and writer Mikhail Petrovich Mikheev (20th century). He is the author of poetry for children and fantasy stories.
Bible prophet
Despite the fact that the name Micah is derived from Michael and has the same interpretation with him, each of them appears in the calendar independently. In Hebrew, the first has such forms as Micah, Mihaihu, Mikaya. It occurs several times in the Bible. Its most famous owner is the prophet Micah, who was born near Jerusalem and was a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah, as well as the kings Hezekiah and Manasseh.
He is the sixth of the twelve minor prophets. So they are called because, in comparison with the big ones, they wrote books of a smaller volume. Micah predicted the birthChrist even 800 years before this event. In addition, his predictions touched:
- the coming of Jesus Christ;
- fall of Jerusalem, which was the capital of the Kingdom of Judah;
- destruction of Samaria - the main city of the kingdom of Israel;
- saving nations through faith;
- punishments for sins.
In conclusion, considering the origin of the surname Mikheev, the following should be noted. It can have both aristocratic roots and peasant ones. For example, it may refer to a distant ancestor who was a serf with the landowner Mikheev. After the abolition of serfdom in Russia, he could take the last name of the latter.
Linguists also do not exclude the toponymic version of origin. In accordance with the decree of the Senate, issued in 1888, all residents of the Russian Empire had to acquire surnames. Some of them took the name of their small homeland as a basis. Therefore, it can be associated with Mikheevka, Mikheevsky, Mikheev and other settlements with similar names.
