P. Durante notes that this surname is of Greek origin and derives from a proper name.

V. Blunda specifies that it comes from the Greek Eliòdoros, composed of elios, "sun", and doros, "gift", meaning "gift of the sun". The form functioned as a baptismal name that became a surname when referring to an ancestor bearing that name. Blunda places it in Sicily and compares it with other compounds of Greek theophoric structure, such as Cristòdaro and Elio.