The authors agree that Attardi is a Sicilian surname derived from a medieval personal name, although they differ as to its linguistic root.

E. Rossoni derives it from the medieval name Attardus, documented around the year 1100 in a chronicle of the Crusades.

V. Blunda proposes a Germanic root and explains it as a compound of aht (thought, reflection) and hard (hard, brave), meaning "brave thought" or "bold reflection". He notes that the binomial thought-valour was a quality celebrated among the Lombard chiefs, where prudence in counsel was associated with courage in action. He also recalls Antonio Attardi, one of the 18th-century Sicilian painters active in the religious decoration of Palermo.