The authors agree that this surname is typically of the region of Puglia, with presence concentrated in Gioia del Colle and Bitonto, within the province of Bari.

E. Rossoni proposes that the surname originates in a compound given name: Cola, a reduced form of the name Nicola, to which the nickname pinto was added, referring to the very dark complexion of the bearer. This type of formation —personal name plus physical nickname— is characteristic of southern Italy, where the distinctive traits of the individual were incorporated directly into the name to give rise to a hereditary surname.

An alternative interpretation, attributed to the site Venere.it, establishes that the surname could derive from the Latin columpna, which means "column", with a symbolic sense of a robust or imposing person. However, this hypothesis is considered less solid than the patronymic explanation proposed by Rossoni.