According to Emidio De Felice, the set of surnames such as Amato, Amadori, Amatori, Amatore, Amati, D'Amato, Amadei, Amadio, Amabile and other related forms is widespread throughout peninsular Italy, though with greater presence in Tuscany and especially in Emilia-Romagna. Its origin goes back to an old nickname or medieval personal name Amatore / Amadore, derived from the Late Latin Amator (Amatoris), meaning "the one who loves", "lover" or "devotee". In this sense, many of these surnames have an anthroponymic and auspicious origin, associated with valued qualities such as affection, devotion or love —in some cases even with religious connotations such as "beloved by God" or "the one who loves God".

The variants with -d- (such as Amadori) reflect the influence of the Provençal name Amadour, widespread in the Middle Ages from the cult of a saint venerated in the sanctuary of Roc-Amadour, in France, one of the great medieval pilgrimage centres also frequented by Italians. This influence explains the coexistence of Italian and Provençal forms within the same family of surnames.

From this base a wide range of variants developed: Amato (very widespread in the south, with the sense of "beloved"), Amadori (a patronymic typical of Romagna and Tuscany), Amatori (a plural form indicating family lineage), Amatore (a form closer to the original name), Amati (present in various regions of the centre-north), D'Amato (a patronymic form with prefix), as well as derivatives such as Amadei and Amadio (linked to Amadeus, "the one who loves God") or Amabile (of an adjectival character, "worthy of love").

Taken together, these surnames reflect a common root deeply linked to the affective and religious language of the Latin and medieval world, where names not only identified a person, but also expressed a wish, a quality or a blessing, and whose diffusion was reinforced both by the Christian tradition and by the cultural and religious movements of the Middle Ages.