E. De Felice considers that the surname derives from the place name Maida, a locality in the province of Catanzaro, in Calabria, pointing to that region as the epicentre of its diffusion, with a presence also in Sicily and Campania.

E. Rossoni proposes as the most likely etymology the Arabic word māʾida, which means "table", and notes that the surname is found mainly in Calabria and Sicily. He also mentions, however, the toponymic hypothesis —derivation from that same place name Maida, in the province of Catanzaro— as a possible alternative, without ruling it out.