The 1st time you heard the name "Michelangelo" in your life was about the...

[buritobr]

Michelangelo (1475-1564) is the name of the famous Italian artist of the Renaissance
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo

Michelangelo (1984-) is also the name of one of the 4 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo_(Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles)#:~:text=Michelangelo%2C%20nicknamed%20Mike%20or%20Mikey,good%20time%20rather%20than%20train.

I believe most of the people born in the 1980s heard about the turtle first.

[progressive85]

The turtle with the orange bandana over his eyes of course (:  Then later on the painter.

[wnwnwn]

The painter.
I think I even heard forst of Donatello as an artist rather than as a Ninja Turtle.

[dead0man]

70s, Painter

TMNT came out for me at an age where I could have gone either way with it, I went with the "that's for little kids", and so it's always been that way to me.

[Never Made it to Graceland]

The painter.

As a kid I remember people singing the TMNT theme song, but I had never seen the show so I thought they were singing about the painters.

[Benjamin Frank 2.0]

The painter (and sculptor). Michelangelo is mentioned in the Bob Dylan song "Jokerman" from 1983.

Well the book of Leviticus and Deuteronomy
The law of the jungle and the sea
are your only teachers

In the smoke of the twilight
on a milk-white steed
Michelangelo indeed could have carved out your features

resting in the fields far from the turbulent space
half asleep near the stars
with a small dog licking your face.

[Mr. Smith]

Still the painter. Went to Italy before I found TMNT 2k3 on FoxBox. Same thing for Leonardo.

Donatello and Raphael really were the turtles first though.

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

Honestly, I'm not 100% sure. I think I'm gonna play it safe and say what Smith said: Mike and Leo were the painters first; Don and Raph were the turtles first. In any case, I was born in the 2000s (specifically, the year of that decade ending in 1).

[The Arizonan]

Fun fact: Michaelangelo actually hated painting. Period.

[RI]

Never watched TMNT.

[Lambsbread]

I misunderstood* the poll, I thought we were voting for the first decade we heard the name

* = did not read

Anyway, I was born in 1996 and I'm almost certain I heard about the turtle first, some time in the early 2000s.

[Sirius_]

You know I really don't remember but I was not a ninja turtles kid so I'm going to guess it was the painter.

[Lechasseur]

1990s, Italian painter

[darklordoftech]

Italian painter, 1990s, and I thought that Michael was his first name and Angelo was his last name.

[TheElectoralBoobyPrize]

Turtle..80s. Seems like that's the only decade where turtle is winning...turtlemania peaked in the late 80s/early 90s.