 According to Francis Ford Coppola (qv), the term "Don Corleone" is  actually incorrect Italian parlance. In Italian, addressing someone  as "Don" would be like addressing them as "Uncle" in English, so the  correct parlance would be "Don Michael" or "Don Vito". Coppola says  that Mario Puzo (qv), who couldnt speak Italian, simply made up  the idea of using "Don" with a persons last name, and it has now  become a pop culture staple.