The surname Bergamo and its variants —such as Bergami, Bergamini or Bergamasco— are widely spread in northern Italy, especially in Lombardy, Emilia and the Veneto. According to E. De Felice, its main origin is toponymic, derived from Bèrgamo (Latin Bergomum, dialectal Bèrghem) and from its ethnic form bergamasco, which indicated someone who came from that city. However, he clarifies that forms such as Bergamini do not derive directly from the place name, but from the professional term bergamino, which designated workers or entrepreneurs of dairy operations, many of them originating from the Bergamo area and active in the Po plain.

Along the same lines, F. De Laurentiis confirms its very high frequency in northern Italy, with special concentration in Milan, central-eastern Lombardy, Emilia and the Veneto, reaffirming its base in the place name Bergamo. This agreement between authors reinforces the importance of the geographical origin as a key element in the formation of the surname, in a context where identification by place of provenance was common.

For his part, E. Rossoni provides nuances on the regional distribution of the variants: Bergami is typical of Emilia, especially in the Bologna and Ferrara areas, while Bergamo presents a strong presence in the Triveneto. He also notes that in southern Italy (Salento, Salerno and Sicily) some forms might not derive from the Lombard city, but from the place name Pergamon, an important centre of the Byzantine Empire in present-day Turkey. This observation introduces a possible double route of origin, combining different toponymic traditions within a single group of surnames.