Michael is my given name; it is supposed to be Hebrew for "he who is like god." I wouldn't otherwise know mom was heavy into irony.
For most of my life I went by "Mike"--when I was called "Michael" it usually meant I was in trouble for something. Also, "Michael" seemed a little too formal and stilted to me when I was younger. Lately, however, I have begun to enjoy my given name.
In one fable, "Michael is described as the prince of light, leading forces of good against the darkness of evil" (from Wikipedia). Sounds pretty damn cool to me.
So there you have it.
For a short time I went by "short attention sp" in reference to a characteristic I have which inhibits my reading of most messages authored by Holmes.
Cheers.