The authors agree that this surname derives from a nickname related to the figure of the abbot —head of a monastery or abbey— or from behavioural traits of the founder of the lineage. F. Miranda adds that the term also functioned as an honorific title given to priests, seminarians and laymen who enjoyed ecclesiastical benefices, and that the surname could likewise have originated in nicknames linked to the word abate or to the birthplace of the first bearer.

E. Rossoni notes that its transformation into a surname is very old: it is already documented in the 12th century in a parchment of the Capitular Archive of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan. As for its geographical distribution, the authors agree that the surname has specific areas of presence in Sicily and in the Campania region, with additional presence in the area of Perugia and in Rome. Miranda broadens this picture and indicates that the surname also extends across Lazio, Lombardy, Piedmont, Tuscany, Puglia, Liguria, Calabria and Emilia-Romagna. In Sicily it appears in all its provinces, with particular density in the areas of Palermo, Messina, Catania and Trapani.