The authors agree that this surname derives from a medieval affectionate appellative based on the term mièle ("honey"), with the sense of "sweet as honey", applied to a much-loved or much-wanted child. Names and nicknames of this kind appear already in medieval documents of the 10th, 11th and 12th centuries throughout Italy.

E. De Felice notes that the term shows regional variants: mèli in Sicily and southern Calabria, mèle and méli in Sardinia, the latter with the plural mélis, frequent in onomastics with a collective value. He adds that, in some cases, the surnames Miele in Veneto and Mele in Sardinia may reflect syncopated forms of Michele.

E. Rossoni specifies the geographical distribution of the surname: Miele appears typical of the area comprising Lazio, Campania and the Foggia area, although it also appears in the Florence area, in the Venice area and in Lombardy. Rossoni adds that the variant Mieli appears specific to Rome and its province, especially to Mentana, and agrees with De Felice in noting that some forms may be contractions of the name Michele.