Recorded as Michael, Michie and Mihie, this is a Scottish surname found mainly in the county of Aberdeenshire, and then specifically in the towns and villages of Strathdon, Glengairn and Crathie. As Michie and Mihie it is a diminutive form of the personal name Michael, which itself is ultimately from the Hebrew "Micha-el", meaning "he who is like God". Regarded as a "crusader" introduction, that is to say a name brought back from the Holy Land in the 12th century by returning Knights Templar, its popularity was because of the biblical Michael, regarded as the warrior archangel. From early medieval times, the name and surname in over fifty forms was popular throughout Christian Europe. The Michie family is a sept of the famous clan the MacDonalds of Keppoch. They claim descent from from a Michael MacDonald of that branch in about the year 1570. The chiefship of this sept resided in the family of Corryhoul, whilst David Mihie had a son baptized in Aberdeen in 1606 and Marrie Michie was christened in Saint Nicholas, Aberdeen, on June 25th 1638. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Mychy. This was dated 1473, in the Rent Book of Cupar-Angus, in Aberdeen, and during the reign of King James 111rd, of Scotland, 1460 - 1488. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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