The consulted works concur in tracing this surname to the given name Maria, itself derived from the Aramaic Maryam — the name of the mother of Jesus, of Mary Magdalene, and of Mary of Cleophas in the Gospels — corresponding to the Hebrew Miriam. A. Bongioanni adds that the most likely etymology connects Miriam and Mariam to the Latin domina, meaning "lady." Maria is considered the most widespread Christian name in the world; because the Virgin is invoked under multiple titles and the Church dedicates fourteen feasts to her, several of her attributes gave rise to independent names, among them Annunziata, Addolorata, Assunta, Immacolata, and Grazia.

On the geographic distribution, the sources diverge. Bongioanni notes that the surname as such is found mainly in southern Italy, and that it appears most frequently in the matronymic forms De Maria or Di Maria. R. Brondolo, by contrast, emphasizes that this surname functions as a reference to the mother and is concentrated above all in Lombardy and in the Swiss canton of Ticino, with only a sporadic presence in southern Piedmont. It is recorded as deriving from the given name Maria, without further elaboration.