The authors differ on the origin of the surname. F. De Laurentiis derives it from the Italian noun barella, a term with several meanings: "stretcher for transporting the sick or injured", "rectangular plank with two poles for carrying stones or earth by hand", and "frame for carrying statues or sacred images in procession".

V. Blunda, on the other hand, proposes a Greek origin, deriving it from Barèlles, a personal name or nickname preserved through Byzantine transmission in southern Italy. According to this author, the Italianised spelling of the surname in Sicily incorporates the consonant doubling characteristic of that tradition, and the surname would have arisen from that original personal name.