The surname Altavilla is of toponymic origin and is linked to numerous places in southern Italy that bear that name. According to E. De Felice, it derives from place names such as Altavilla Silentina, Altavilla Irpina or Altavilla Milicia, among others, very widespread in the peninsular south and in Sicily. In this sense, the surname originally indicated the geographical provenance of the lineage.

E. De Felice adds that the spread of the surname may have been reinforced by the prestige of the Norman family of the Altavilla (coming from Hauteville in northern France), which from the 11th century —with figures such as Robert Guiscard and Roger I of Sicily— conquered and governed much of southern Italy and Sicily until the end of the 12th century.

For his part, E. Rossoni agrees on the toponymic origin, noting that the surname derives from the numerous place names with the root Altavilla, although he clarifies that the direct connection with the Norman lineage of the Hauteville can only be established in specific cases and not in a generalised way.

Taken together, both interpretations agree in pointing to a clear geographical origin, linked to localities called Altavilla, with a possible —but not necessarily universal— historical influence of the prestigious Norman lineage.