Today I learned why the Mona Lisa is called the Mona Lisa

Was looking up the Mona Lisa painting today.

The painting is "supposed to be" of a woman named Lisa Gherardini.

Mona is a contraction of Madonna.

According to WIkipedia:

"In Italian, ma donna means my lady. This became madonna, and its contraction mona. Mona was thus a polite form of address, similar to Ma’am, Madam, or my lady in English. Though traditionally spelled "Mona" (as used by Vasari[4]), in modern Italian, this short form of madonna is now usually spelled Monna. The title is therefore sometimes given as Monna Lisa, but this is rare in English. "Monna Lisa" is the normal spelling in modern Italian."