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 (and Norman French) name Michel, a vernacular form of the name Michael.[1] The personal name Michael is ultimately derived from a Hebrew name, meaning "Who is like God".[2] 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;[1] this English-language surname is derived from the Irish-language Ó Maoil Mhichíl, meaning "descendant of the devotee of St. Michael".[3]
Geographical distribution
As of 2014, 65.5% of all bearers of the surname Mitchell were residents of the United States (frequency 1:759), 12.0% of England (1:639), 5.6% of Australia (1:581), 5.1% of Canada (1:987), 2.8% of Scotland (1:261), 2.4% of South Africa (1:3,154) and 1.3% of Jamaica (1:309).
In Scotland, the frequency of the surname was higher than average (1:261) in the following council areas:[4]
- 1. Angus (1:159)
- 2. Dundee (1:161)
- 3. Aberdeenshire (1:167)
- 4. Clackmannanshire (1:181)
- 5. Inverclyde (1:182)
- 6. Moray (1:189)
- 7. Fife (1:207)
- 8. Aberdeen (1:210)
- 9. Perth and Kinross (1:217)
- 10. East Ayrshire (1:226)
- 11. Midlothian (1:240)
- 12. Scottish Borders (1:241)
- 13. East Ayrshire (1:242)
- 14. Falkirk (1:248)
- 15. North Ayrshire (1:258)
In the United States, the frequency of the surname was higher than average (1:759) in the following states:
- 1. Alabama (1:360)
- 2. Mississippi (1:388)
- 3. Louisiana (1:455)
- 4. Arkansas (1:460)
- 5. Georgia (1:501)
- 6. Tennessee (1:514)
- 7. Delaware (1:528)
- 8. North Carolina (1:534)
- 9. Oklahoma (1:541)
- 10. South Carolina (1:550)
- 11. Maine (1:562)
- 12. Virginia (1:576)
- 13. Kentucky (1:606)
- 14. Missouri (1:635)
- 15. Utah (1:670)
- 16. Maryland (1:680)
- 17. Texas (1:680)
- 18. Kansas (1:688)
- 19. West Virginia (1:728)
- 20. Idaho (1:734)
- 21. Indiana (1:739)
- 22. Michigan (1:743)
- 23. Alaska (1:758)
People
A–E
- Akil Mitchell, American basketball player
- Alan Mitchell (1922–1995), British dendrologist and forester
- Alexander Mitchell (disambiguation), several people, including:
- Alexander Crichton Mitchell (1864–1952), Scottish geophysicist
- Alvin Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Andrea Mitchell, American TV journalist
- Andrew Mitchell, British politician
- Arthur Mitchell (disambiguation), several people
- Barbara Mitchell (1929–1977), British actress
- Belle Mitchell (1889–1979), American actress
- Bernon F. Mitchell (1929–2001), American cryptologist, of the Martin and Mitchell defection
- Beth Mitchell (1972-1998), American competitive shag dancer
- Beverley Mitchell (born 1981), American actress
- Billy Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Bo Levi Mitchell (born 1990), American player of Canadian football
- Bobby Mitchell (1935–2020), American football player
- Brian David Mitchell, Kidnapper of Elizabeth Smart
- Bruce Mitchell (1910-2004) Parks Canada Legend
- Bryant Mitchell (born 1992), American football player
- Carl Terrell Mitchell (born 1973), known as Twista, American rapper
- Casey Mitchell (basketball) (born 1988), basketball player for Elitzur Ashkelon of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
- Charles Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Charlotte Mitchell, British actress
- Christopher Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Chuck Mitchell, American actor
- Colin Mitchell (cricketer) (1929–2007), English cricketer
- Colin Campbell Mitchell (1925–1996), British soldier and politician
- Collin Mitchell (born 1969), Canadian curler
- Coulson Norman Mitchell, Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross
- Dale Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Daniel Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Danyel Mitchell (born 1972), American discus thrower and shot putter
- David Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Demetri Mitchell (born 1997), English footballer
- Denis Mitchell (disambiguation), several people
- Dennis Mitchell (born 1966), American athlete
- Sir Dennis Mitchell (pilot) (1918–2001), British air force pilot
- Dervilla Mitchell, Irish engineer
- Diana Mitchell (1932–2016), Zimbabwean historian and political activist
- Dillon Mitchell (born 1998), American football player
- Donovan Mitchell (born 1996) American Basketball Player
- Drew Mitchell (born 1984), Australian rugby player
- E. Coppée Mitchell (1836-1887), American Professor and Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School
- Edgar Mitchell (1930–2016), American astronaut
- Eddy Mitchell (born 1942), French singer and actor born Claude Moine
- Elisha Mitchell (1793–1857), Chemist, geologist, professor (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
- Elizabeth Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Erika Mitchell is the real name of the author E. L. James (born 1963)
- Ewing Mitchell (1910–1988), American actor
F–L
- Frederick Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Fondren Mitchell (1921–1952), American football player
- Gary Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Gay Mitchell Irish politician and member of the European Parliament for the Dublin constituency
- Geneva Mitchell (1908–1949), American actress
- George Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Glenn Mitchell (disambiguation), several people
- Guy Mitchell (1927–1999), American singer and actor
- Hannah Mitchell (1872–1956), English suffragette and socialist
- H. Lane Mitchell, American politician
- Henry Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Howard Hawks Mitchell mathematician
- Ian Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Isaac Mitchell (1759–1812), New York newspaper publisher and author
- Isaac B. Mitchell (1888–1977), New York state senator
- Jacqui Mitchell, American bridge player
- James Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Jane E. Mitchell (1921 - 2004), African American nurse
- Joan Mitchell, American painter
- John Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Joni Mitchell (born 1943), Canadian musician and painter
- Joseph Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Julian Mitchell (born 1935), English screenwriter and occasional novelist
- Juliet Mitchell (born 1940), British psychoanalyst
- Katie Mitchell (born 1964), English theatre director
- Keith Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Kel Mitchell (born 1978), American actor
- Kelsey Mitchell (born 1995), American basketball player
- Kevin Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Kim Mitchell (born 1952), Canadian guitarist, solo recording artist and former lead singer for the band Max Webster
- Lauren Mitchell (born 1992), Australian gymnast, two time Olympic gymnast
- Laurie Mitchell (1928–2018), American actress
- Leilani Mitchell (born 1985), American basketball player
- Leona Mitchell (born 1949), American operatic soprano
- Leslie George Mitchell, British historian
- Leslie R. Mitchell (1923–2014), British Scouter and radio amateur
- Letila Mitchell, Rotuman performing artist from Fiji
- Loften Mitchell (1919–2001), American playwright
- Lucy Miller Mitchell (1899–2002), educator and activist
- Lynette Mitchell, Professor in Greek History and Politics, University of Exeter
M–R
- MacNeil Mitchell (1904–1996), New York politician
- Maia Mitchell (born 1993), Australian actress
- Margaret Mitchell (1900–1949), American author (Gone with the Wind)
- Margaret Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Margaretta Mitchell (born 1935), American photographer and writer
- Maria Mitchell (1818–1889), American astronomer
- Marion Juliet Mitchell (1836-?), American poet
- Mark Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Martha Beall Mitchell, wife of American politician John Mitchell
- Martha Mitchell (director), American television director
- Matthew Mitchell (basketball) (born 1970), American basketball coach
- Michele Mitchell (diver) (born 1962), American diver
- Michele Mitchell (journalist), American filmmaker, journalist and author
- Mike Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Mitch Mitchell (1946–2008), drummer of the Jimi Hendrix Experience
- Norman Mitchell (1918–2001), British actor
- Norman Mitchell (rugby league), rugby league footballer of the 1950s
- Oliver Mitchell, U.S marine killed in action during World War II
- Ormsby M. Mitchel (1810–1862), American Civil War general
- Patrick Mitchell (1930–2020), English Anglican priest
- Patrick Mitchell (football), British Virgin Islands football manager
- Penelope Mitchell, Australian actress
- Peter Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Priscilla Mitchell (1941–2014), American country music singer
- R. Clayton Mitchell Jr. (1936–2019), American politician
- R. J. Mitchell (Reginald Joseph Mitchell, 1895–1937), British aeronautical engineer and designer of the Supermarine Spitfire
- Radha Mitchell, Australian film actress
- Rhea Mitchell, American film actress
- Richard Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Robert Byington Mitchell, American Civil War general
- Robin E. Mitchell (born 1946), Fijian sports official and IOC member
- Rosamond Joscelyne Mitchell (1902–1963), English author, historian, and archivist
S–Z
- Sam Mitchell (disambiguation), several people
- Samuel Mitchell (disambiguation), several people
- Scott Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Seanna Mitchell (born 1988), Canadian freestyle swimmer
- Shannon Mitchell (born 1972), American football player
- Sharon Mitchell (born 1956), porn actress and director of the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation
- Shay Mitchell Canadian actress and model
- Silas Weir Mitchell (actor) (born 1969), American actor
- Silas Weir Mitchell (physician) (1829–1914), American surgeon
- Stacey Mitchell (1990-2006), British girl murdered in Australia by lesbian couple Jessica Stasinowsky and Valerie Parashumti
- Stanley Mitchell (1932–2011), British translator, academic, and author
- Stanley Robert Mitchell (1881–1963), Australian metallurgist and ethnologist
- Steven Mitchell (American football) (born 1994), American football player
- Stuart Mitchell (1965–2018), Scottish pianist and composer
- Stuart Mitchell (American football) (born 1964), American football player
- Sydney Mitchell (1856–1930), Scottish architect
- Sydney B. Mitchell (1878–1951), Canadian librarian and horticulturist
- Taylor Mitchell (1990–2009), Canadian singer
- Terence Frederick Mitchell (1919–2007), British linguist
- Thomas Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Tyrone Mitchell (1955–1984), American school shooter
- Victor Mitchell, Colorado Republican
- W. O. Mitchell (William Ormond Mitchell, 1914–1998), Canadian writer
- Warren Mitchell (1926–2015), English actor
- Warren Mitchell (basketball), American college basketball coach
- Wesley Clair Mitchell (1874–1948), American economist
- William Mitchell (disambiguation)
- Willy Mitchell (born 1953), Canadian First Nations musician
- Zack Mitchell (born 1993), Canadian ice hockey player
Fictional characters
- Beca Mitchell in Pitch Perfect
- Ben Mitchell (film character), from the Australian horror film Wolf Creek
- President Bill Mitchell in the film Dave
- Cameron Mitchell (Stargate) of Stargate SG-1
- Dana Mitchell, the Pink Ranger in Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue
- Dennis the Menace (U.S.), cartoon character
- Gary Mitchell (Star Trek), villain in the original Star Trek series
- Hank and Jacob Mitchell, brothers from the novel and film "A Simple Plan"
- Harold Mitchell, Blanche's would-be suitor in the play A Streetcar Named Desire and its various adaptations
- Jack Mitchell (character), appears in numerous sketch stories by Henry Lawson
- Jack Mitchell, protagonist in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
- John Mitchell (Being Human), fictional vampire from the TV series Being Human
- Lt. Pete Mitchell ("Maverick"), Top Gun
- Ryan Mitchell (Power Rangers), the Titanium Ranger in Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue
- Capt. Scott Mitchell, the protagonist and player character in Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon series
EastEnders
The Mitchell family has played a large part in the British soap opera EastEnders since their introduction in 1990. Characters credited under the surname are as follows:
- Amy Mitchell
- Archie Mitchell
- Ben Mitchell (EastEnders)
- Billy Mitchell
- Carla Mitchell
- Clive Mitchell (EastEnders)
- Courtney Mitchell
- Danny Mitchell (EastEnders)
- Freddie Mitchell (EastEnders)
- Glenda Mitchell
- Grant Mitchell (EastEnders)
- Honey Mitchell
- Jamie Mitchell
- Janet Mitchell (EastEnders)
- Jay Mitchell
- Kate Mitchell
- Kathy Mitchell
- Little Mo Mitchell
- Louise Mitchell
- Madge Mitchell
- Matthew Mitchell Cotton
- Nadia Mitchell
- Peggy Mitchell
- Phil Mitchell
- Ricky Mitchell
- Ronnie Mitchell
- Roxy Mitchell
- Sam Mitchell (EastEnders)
- Sharon Mitchell
- Ted Mitchell
- Tiffany Mitchell
- William Mitchell (EastEnders)
- Vi Mitchell
See also
- Ó Maoilmhichil, Irish clan name which evolved into the surname Mitchell and the surname Mulvihill
- Mitchell (given name)
References
- Mitchell Family History, Ancestry.com, retrieved 2 May 2012. This webpage cites Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4.
- Michael Family History, Ancestry.com, retrieved 2 May 2012. This webpage cites Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4.
- Mulvihill Family History, Ancestry.com, retrieved 2 May 2012. This webpage cites Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4.
- Mitchell surname distribution