The authors differ on the origin of this surname. E. Rossoni proposes two hypotheses: that it derives from an Italianisation of the Hebrew name Astaroth —the name of a demon mentioned by the poet Luigi Pulci in the Morgante under the form Astarotte— or from the medieval name Astarius in its feminine form, which would make the surname a matronymic. Rossoni documents the lineage in Pagani, in the Salerno area, and in Sorrento, where there are noble palaces with this name. He also notes the variants Astariti and Astarotta, very rare, peculiar to the Campania region.

G. Rohlfs, on the other hand, proposes a Greek-Byzantine origin and compares it with the Modern Greek ἀστρίτης, which designates a species of viper, a zoonym that functions here as a descriptive etymon without a pejorative connotation for the bearer. Rohlfs records the surname in the city of Catanzaro, in Calabria, and notes its frequency in Naples, interpreting it as a reflection of the Byzantine presence in southern Italy.