The authors differ on the etymological origin of the surname. E. Rossoni maintains that it derives from the compound name Nicola Antonio, through the reduction of the first and the dialectal modification of the second. As documentary support, he notes that in the region of Campania its use is recorded from 1500, and mentions a document of 1524 in which a certain Colantuono de Giliberto appears.

V. Blunda, on the other hand, proposes a different etymology: the surname would come from the Greek Caloantònes, which would mean "Antonio the good", formed by the prefix kalo- ("good") plus the personal name Antonio. Blunda inscribes it within a series of compounds with that prefix —such as Colaianni, Colamasi and Colàngelo— that he documented in Sicily.

As for the geographical distribution, Rossoni offers a detailed picture of the different variants. Colantoni is concentrated in the Terni and Stroncone area, in Abruzzo —especially in Villetta Barrea and L'Aquila— and in Rome, with a specific area in San Mauro Castelverde, in the Palermo area. Colantonio is typical of Abruzzo, in the Chieti and Pescara area, of Lazio —Rome and Arce, in the Frosinone area— and of the Naples area. Colantuoni is concentrated in Pietradefusi, Montemiletto and Venticano, in the Avellino area. Colantuono, for its part, presents specific areas in Lazio —Rome and the Latina area—, in Molise and mainly in the provinces of Naples and Avellino.