The authors agree that this surname derives from the Latin term arena, which designates sand or a sandy locality. The original motivation points, according to the various contributions, both to a toponymic origin —that is, provenance from some place with that name— and to a nickname referring to those who lived in sandy areas or carried out activities linked to sand.

E. De Felice notes that the surname is very frequent from eastern Sicily to Calabria and the Naples area, where altered and derived forms also appear. He links it with place names of that area formed on the term aréna, such as Arena in the Catanzaro area, Arenabianca in the Salerno area and Arenella in the Messina area.

E. Rossoni adds that the surname is documented as early as 1388, among the signatories of the Peace of Eleonora, where an Arena de Fuliato appears as a juror of the town of Narbolia. He traces the etymology to the Latin rena, an alternative form of arena.

F. Miranda broadens the geographical distribution of the related place names, noting localities called Arena in the areas of Cosenza, Salerno, Pisa and Pavia. G. P. Holmes reinforces the occupational interpretation of the original nickname, associating it with those who transported or worked sand.