Mitchell is a surname originating in Scotland, in northern and southwestern England, and also in Ireland. It is the same word as Old English "micel" (pronounced identically, with a palatized "c", i.e. "ch"), a common adjective meaning "big." Though derivation from the first name "Michael" (or "Michel") is sometimes supposed, this is almost certainly a modern idea based on the resemblance in spelling. On the other hand, the French version of "Michael", Michel, was pronounced 1 in Norman French (the language of the Norman invaders of England in 1066), and as this was the pronunciation of the name from 1066 on, its use (and spelling) in English as "Mitchell" cannot be discounted.

"Mitchell" is one of the more common family names in Scotland, England, and Ireland and in regions settled by emigrants from those countries; likewise, a large number of geographical features in Canada, the United States, Australia, and elsewhere have taken their name from people named Mitchell.

Australia

• Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory
• Mitchell, Queensland
• Mount Mitchell, Queensland
• Mitchell, Northern Territory
• Division of Mitchell, a federal Australian Electoral Division in north-west Sydney, New South Wales
• Electoral district of Mitchell (South Australia), a state electoral district in South Australia
• Electoral district of Mitchell (Western Australia) a state electoral district in Western Australia

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Canada

• Mitchell, Ontario
• Mount Mitchell (Alberta) in Jasper National Park of Canada
• Mitchell, Manitoba

United Kingdom

• Mitchell, Cornwall

=== United States of America ===

• Mitchell, Georgia
• Mitchell, Illinois
• Mitchell, Indiana
• Mitchell, Iowa
• Mitchell, Nebraska
• Mitchell, Oregon
• Mitchell, South Dakota

== Colleges ==

• Mitchell College, a private college, located in New London, Connecticut

== People ==

• Alan Mitchell (1922-1995), British dendrologist and forester
• Andrea Mitchell, American Television Journalist
• Arthur Mitchell (dancer), founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem
• Beverley Mitchell (born 1981), American actress
• Billy Mitchell (disambiguation)
• Charles William Mitchell, English pre-Raphaelite painter
• Dale Mitchell (disambiguation)
• David Mitchell (disambiguation)
• Drew Mitchell, Australian rugby player
• Edgar Mitchell, American astronaut
• Elisha Mitchell (1793-1857), Chemist, geologist, professor (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
• Elizabeth Mitchell (disambiguation)
• George Mitchell (disambiguation)
• Glenn Mitchell (19502005), a local radio personality at KERA 90.1 in Dallas, Texas, for many years
• Glenn Mitchell (sports broadcaster), from Australia
• Ian Mitchell (disambiguation)
• James Mitchell (disambiguation)
• Joan Mitchell, American painter
• John Mitchell (disambiguation)
• Joni Mitchell (born 1943), a Canadian musician and painter
• Julian Mitchell (born 1935), an English screenwriter and occasional novelist
• Kevin Mitchell (disambiguation)
• Margaret Mitchell (disambiguation)
• Maria Mitchell (18181889), American astronomer
• Michele Mitchell (born 1962), American diver
• Mike Mitchell (basketball), a NBA player
• Mitch Mitchell, drummer of the Jimi Hendrix Experience
• Peter Mitchell (disambiguation)
• R. J. Mitchell, designer of the Supermarine Spitfire
• R J Mitchell (author), English author, historian, and archivist
• Rhea Mitchell, American film actress
• Richard Mitchell, American English and classics professor
• Robert B. Mitchell, American Civil War general
• Samuel Alfred Mitchell, Canadian astronomer
• Scott Mitchell (disambiguation)
• Sharon Mitchell (born 1956), a porn actress and director of the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation
• Silas Weir Mitchell (1829-1914), American surgeon
• Thomas Mitchell (disambiguation)
• W. O. Mitchell (19141998), Canadian writer
• Warren Mitchell, English actor
• Warren Mitchell (basketball), American college basketball coach
• Wesley Clair Mitchell (18741948), American economist
• William Mitchell (disambiguation)