The consulted works concur in deriving the surname Miceli — together with its variants Micela, Micele, and Micelli — from a diminutive form of the given name Michele, itself the Italian equivalent of the Hebrew name Mikha'el. F. Miranda explains that this Hebrew name carries the meaning "who is like God?", a rhetorical question expressing the impossibility for mankind of approaching the greatness of the Creator. It is similarly recorded as deriving from Mikha'el, interpreted as "who is as powerful and great as God."

Miranda notes that the surname is found in just under 850 municipalities across Italy and has a broad but uneven distribution. It is concentrated most heavily in Sicily, Calabria, and Lombardy, while also appearing in every other Italian region, particularly Lazio, Piedmont, Apulia, Campania, Tuscany, Liguria, and Emilia-Romagna. Within Sicily, the surname is present in every province, with especially notable density in the areas of Palermo, Agrigento, Messina, Syracuse, and Trapani. In the area of Enna specifically, Miranda identifies it in the municipalities of Agira, Troina, Leonforte, Regalbuto, Nicosia, Calascibetta, Piazza Armerina, Assoro, and Nissoria.