The authors differ on the origin of this surname. A. Bongioanni derives it from the feminine name Caterina —whose masculine form, Caterino, is old and rare, limited to the religious sphere—, which goes back to Saint Catherine of Alexandria, martyred under the emperor Maximinus Daia. The Greek name Hekateriné, of obscure etymology, was associated by popular etymology with the Greek adjective katharós, "pure", and adapted into Latin as Catharina; however, Bongioanni warns that this popular etymology is not acceptable, since Saint Catherine of Alexandria is chronologically prior to the diffusion of the adjective in that sense.

According to Bongioanni, the name became established especially in the northeast of Italy, more open to Eastern influences, first through the cult of Saint Catherine of Alexandria (10th–12th centuries) and later through that of Saint Catherine of Siena (14th century) and other homonymous saints. For his part, E. Rossoni maintains a different origin: he considers that the surname derives from place names that contain the root Caterina, such as Santa Caterina Albanese, Santa Caterina —in the Salento area, that is, the southernmost zone of the region of Puglia— or Santa Caterina dello Ionio, in the region of Calabria.