E. Rossoni proposes two main etymological lines. On the one hand, the surname would derive from nicknames linked to the name Can, very widespread in the Veneto area —recalled, for example, in the historical figure of Can Grande della Scala of Verona—, applied to those who were children or descendants of someone with that name. On the other hand, it could refer to those who practised the trade of tavern-keepers or used the small wooden reed to decant wine from the barrels. Rossoni documents early signs of its transformation into a surname: in Chioggia, at the end of the 13th century, with the notary Dionisio Canella, and in Chios, in the second half of the 14th century, with the notary Giuliano de Canella.

F. De Laurentiis broadens the etymological field with dialectal variants. He notes that the base could be the dialectal term canella understood as "area where dogs abound", or —especially in the Veneto, where the double n is not pronounced— the dry and aromatic bark of the homonymous plant, used as a spice in cooking, of a yellow-brown colour, or also the short wooden tube inserted into the hole of a barrel to extract the wine. De Laurentiis also adds that some cases could go back to the place name Canelli, a locality in the Asti area, in Piedmont.

The areas of greatest presence of the surname include the Veneto —particularly the Vicenza, Venice, Padua and Rovigo areas—, Piedmont —Novara, Vercelli and Pavia areas— and Emilia-Romagna —Ferrara and Bologna areas—.