E. Rossoni and V. Blunda differ on the origin of the surname.

Rossoni puts forward several hypotheses according to the cluster. For the Sicilian cluster, it probably indicates provenance from a vanished locality called Aguanno, in the area of Trapani. For the Lazio cluster, he considers a derivation from the medieval name of Germanic origin Aquanus, documented in a text of the year 1130, more likely. He also does not rule out a toponymic derivation from the old name Aquana of the town of Civitaquana, in Abruzzo.

Blunda, on the other hand, for the Sicilian variant derives it from the dialectal word aguànnu ("this year"), formed on a temporal expression. As a surname it may have originated in a nickname applied to a newcomer or a newborn, or in a particular circumstance linked to the year the name was recorded. He notes that the term comes from the Latin hoc anno and preserves an archaic structure that also survived in Old Spanish.