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In a few hours, I will most likely have a son. We're pretty sure we know his name, but we were thinking about nicknames. What are common nicknames in Italy for Michelangelo? I'd be interested in any of the following:

  • Italy nicknames (modern or archaic) for Michelangelo
  • Italy nicknames (modern or archaic) for Michele
  • Italy nicknames (modern or archaic) for Angelo

Thanks!

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    I am not sure what you are looking for. Michelangelo is so strongly associated with the famous artist that it cannot be replaced by a nickname. Michele and Angelo, on the other hand, do not suggest Michelangelo as a name.
    – user519
    Commented Dec 22, 2016 at 7:58
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    Congratulations for the future birth, what a happy Christmas!
    – CarLaTeX
    Commented Dec 22, 2016 at 9:26
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    @CarLaTeX - Angelo, Michele and all possible variants have little if nothing to do with Michelangelo. They are just common names or nicknames. I understand OP is looking for a nick which suggests Michelangelo, but I don't think there is.
    – user519
    Commented Dec 22, 2016 at 9:36
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    @CarLaTeX - Angelo and Michele are not nicks for Michelangelo, they are just common names. While Mick is a nick for Micheal, for instance.
    – user519
    Commented Dec 22, 2016 at 9:39
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    @DaG - mi sembra fosse chiamato "Michelagnolo" ai suoi tempi.
    – user519
    Commented Dec 22, 2016 at 9:48

2 Answers 2

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Both Michele and Angelo can be shortened to Lino, through Michele->Michelino (diminutive suffix) -> Lino.

In spoken Italian you may hear Miche / Miché and Ange (or Michi and Angi, but the -i suffix suggests more a feminine name in my view). Because of the strong English culture influence, I wouldn't be surprised to hear Mike, too (pronounced like in English).

For Michelangelo, only Miche, Michi and Mike sound usual to my ear.

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    For the very little it's worthy, most of these sound quite forced to me. Which is not to put in doubt Federico's experience; it's just that probably these forms are not usual in all of Italy.
    – DaG
    Commented Dec 22, 2016 at 9:42
  • To me Miché sounds a little bit southern (but Federico isn't from the south, so maybe it's just me). Probably where I'm from we would shorten Michele as Lele or Michi.
    – Denis Nardin ♦
    Commented Dec 22, 2016 at 14:37
  • These are all fascinating answers! And, the child is now born! His name is Michelangelo but we are still trying to sort out a nickname. It generally sounds like all accepted nicknames are more tightly tied to Michele or Angelo. My family is Italian on both sides, but we are American, so we don't know much about how nicknames are used in modern Italy. We've asked my cousin but she hasn't replied yet. I may a post another question about nicknames in general. Thank you!
    – LoftyGoals
    Commented Dec 22, 2016 at 20:01
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    @LoftyGoals - Off topic: in my experience the best, or at least the longest-lived, nicknames are born spontaneously, from a mispronunciation by a child, from a joke, from an unexpected mental association, not conceived theoretically or found on a website.
    – DaG
    Commented Dec 22, 2016 at 20:46
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I have a friend named Michelangelo. His friends call him with the whole name, Michelangelo, even if it's a mouthful.

His aunt is the only one that calls him Angelo, but several people call him Michèle or Michè. His fiancée calls him Mìchi (or maybe it's Miki -- they're pronounced the same).

The whole family has lived in Florence for as long as anyone remembers.

As for the alternate spellings, in Italian the name was once either spelled Michelangiolo or Michelagnolo. Both angiolo and agnolo are archaic forms of angelo (angel), the latter conflated with agnello (lamb); in the Decameron (around 1350 CE) there's a novel referring to the Agnolo Gabriello (the Archangel Gabriel), and to this day some old stone street plaques near Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence (around 1850 CE) show the spelling Michelangiolo, which is also to be found in many books from those years.

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