Originating from the Hebrew Michael, its introduction to Scotland was through the French Michel. The original pronunciation in Scotland was "Michel" with the 'ch' sounding as in loch. The name evolved as Mitchell in many parts of the country. It appears in 1354 on the Treaty of Berwick, freeing David II from imprisonment by the English and a John Michell was rewarded in 1489 for holding Dumbarton Castle. Mitchells became landowners in Ayrshire and Stirling and a bequest from Stephen Mitchell, a tobacco merchant in Glasgow, created the Mitchell Library in the city.
Helen Mitchell, the daughter of a Mearns farmer is better known as Dame Nellie Melba and James Leslie Mitchell, also from the Mearns, used the pen name Lewis Grassic Gibbon when he wrote "The Scots Quair".
Michie is a diminutive form of Mitchell found in Angus and Aberdeenshire and other derivatives of the name include Mitchison (as in Naomi Mitchison, the writer) and MacMichael.
Mitchell was the 15th most frequent surname at the General Register Office in 1995.
