From the word "stella" = star, used also as a female first name. The Stars. Surnames of Orphans.

The authors agree that the base of this surname is the feminine name Stella, given originally to a girl considered as beautiful as a star. F. Miranda specifies that the term has a Latin origin and indicates beauty, splendour and exceptional luminosity, and notes that the expression "beautiful and resplendent as a star" is also associated with the Virgin Mary. The surname is found diffused throughout Italy with a medium frequency.

A. Bongioanni contributes that in the Venice area the dialectal term stela functioned as an affectionate expression much used by mothers when caressing their children, which would explain the particular frequency of the surname in Veneto. He warns, however, that for Stella, Stellini and similar forms in that region it is also appropriate to consider a derivation from the name Battista. Among the regional variants he mentions Stellin and Stellon in Veneto, Stellari and Stellati in Emilia-Romagna, La Stella in the Apulia region and Stellato in Campania.

R. Brondolo adds two alternative etymologies: that the surname may be an aphaeretic diminutive of (Batti)stella, that is, a shortening of the name Battistella, or else a name assigned to foundlings. He places this origin in northern Italy.

E. Rossoni and F. De Laurentiis note that in some cases the surname may derive from place names rather than from the given name. Rossoni specifically mentions the localities of Stella in the Savona area, Stella Cilento in the Salerno area, Stella di Monsanpolo in the Ascoli Piceno area, Santa Maria La Stella in the Catania area, and Palazzo dello Stella in the Udine area. Miranda confirms this same list of place names and adds that the surname is present in practically all the Italian regions, with a notable concentration in Sicily, where it appears in the Catania, Syracuse, Trapani, Palermo and Messina areas, as well as in the Enna area.