The authors agree that this surname has as its base the name of biblical tradition Elia, the first prophet of Israel. E. De Felice and A. Bongioanni note that it comes from the Hebrew Eliyyah, composed of El- (an abbreviation of Elohim, "God") and Yah (an abbreviation of Yahweh, "the Lord"), meaning "God is the Lord" or "my God is great". Through the Latin Elias and the New Testament Greek Eléias it reached Italy, where it spread mainly through the cult of Saint Elijah the prophet, celebrated on 20 July, and of Saint Elias the abbot in Calabria, on 20 February.

De Felice and Bongioanni add that in Friuli the surname Elini competes with Elena as a possible origin, and that the patronymic D'Elia is characteristic of the peninsular south of Italy. E. Rossoni confirms that the surname is widely distributed in southern Italy, and observes that the variant Elias is very rare and of clearly Sardinian presence.

E. Costantini provides local documentation for the Udine area: the surname is recorded in Gemona at least from 1547, when an Antonio de Elia appears mentioned in the notebook of the massaro Nicolò Vintani of the Comune di Gemona.