first mentioned in the year 1434, has historically been divided between Stary (Old) Miadel and Nowy (New) Miadel. The spelling and pronunciation of the name of these two towns has varied with each the ruling nation.

Prior to the First Partition of Poland, all records and documents were written in Polish (thus, Miadziol or Miadziel) The Grand Duchy of Lithuania Records of 1784 were written in Polish but records after that date were written in Russian (thus in the Revision Lists of 1811 the spellings were Miadel and Miadelai). In Yiddish one hears Mah-del. In the Myadel area many languages formed the base of understanding: Lithuanian, Polish, Hebrew, Yiddish, Belarusian and Russian. Although for residents of Myadel, Belarusian is currently the native language,  the current, and only legal language, in Myadel is Russian.

Modern day Myadel is a sprawling urban settlement whose population in 1989 was 6700 but today is closer to 20,000. The two Myadels seem to rise together through the trees and clouds. Soviet buildings and tall resident-owned apartments have replaced the small, dark, Jewish houses and brightly painted, peasant ones of the past. Fertile soil, trees and lakes in the area provide the main industries (farming, fisheries and sawn timber) past and present. Today, the accepted proper spelling is Myadel.