Mika

Mika in 2012, photo by Prphotos

Birth Name: Michael Holbrook Penniman, Jr.

Place of Birth: Beirut, Lebanon

Date of Birth: August 18, 1983

Ethnicity:
*father – English, Scottish, distant Welsh
*mother – Syrian, Lebanese

Mika is a British singer and songwriter. He is a citizen of the U.S., the U.K., and Lebanon. He is also known as MIKA, Mica, and Mika Penniman.

He was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to American parents, Mary Joan (Mouakad) and Michael Holbrook Penniman. They moved to Paris, France, when he was about a year old, and then to London, England, when he was nine. Mika’s father was born in Jerusalem, Israel, to American parents, and is of English, Scottish, and distant Welsh, ancestry. Mika’s mother was born in New York, to a Syrian father and a Lebanese mother, from Beirut.

Mika’s paternal grandfather was William Frederick Penniman III (the son of William Frederick Penniman, Jr. and Florence Stevens). Mika’s grandfather William was born in Georgia, and worked in the oil business, for Sahara Petroleum Co. and Continental Oil Corp., in Beirut, Lebanon. Mika’s great-grandfather William was the son of William Frederick Penniman and Ann/Anne Elizabeth Adams.

Mika’s paternal grandmother was Dorothy Dyar (the daughter of Frederick/Fred Kingman Dyar and Maude/Maud E. Mickle/Nelson). Dorothy was born in California. Maude was the daughter of George Grasset Mickle, who was born in Canada, to Scottish parents, and of Sarah Jane Williamson.

Mika’s maternal grandfather was named John Mouakad.

Mika’s maternal grandmother was named Odette Farah.

Sources: Marriage record of Mika’s parents – https://familysearch.org

Genealogy of Mika’s paternal grandfather, William Frederick Penniman III (focusing on his own father’s side) – http://www.findagrave.com

Mika’s paternal grandmother, Dorothy Dyar, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org