The authors agree that the surname was formed from the name Adriano, originally linked to the ancient city of Adria.

A. Bongioanni identifies it as a Latin given name, derived from Adria, a very ancient city that gave its name to the Adriatic Sea. He notes that it is the name of ten saints, among them Pope Sant'Adriano, of the 9th century, whose feast day is 8 July. He adds that the dialectal forms Andriano and Andreano became surnames.

V. Blunda, for the Sicilian variant, derives it from the Greek etymon Adrianòs, belonging to the classical anthroponymic stock transmitted to Latin culture. The name is associated with the famous Roman emperor of the 2nd century AD, a great admirer of Greek culture and builder of monuments in Athens and in numerous cities of the Hellenic East. He notes that the Greek form of the name was preserved in Sicilian onomastics thanks to Byzantine influence, distinguishing itself slightly from the Latin form.