F. Miranda proposes a double etymology for this surname. On the one hand, he notes that it derives from dialectal hypocoristic forms of the medieval name Conterius or Conterus, itself coming from the Germanic Gunter. On the other hand, he indicates that in Sicily and in southern Italy the surname derives from the Greek Kontarìnis, coming from kontàrion, which means "small javelin", according to Rohlfs. This second path would explain the origin of the surname as a nickname related to the weapon.

V. Blunda focuses exclusively on the Greek etymology and develops the sense of the nickname in greater detail: the Greek term contarìon, "small javelin", would have given rise to the surname as a byname applied to the light soldier or to an ancestor for his slender bearing or his link to the trade of light weapons. Blunda does not mention the Germanic path proposed by Miranda.

As for its geographical distribution, Miranda notes that the surname is present in about 120 municipalities of various Italian regions, among them Sicily, Lazio, Lombardy, Liguria, Piedmont, Calabria, Tuscany, Marche, Puglia and Veneto. Within Sicily, the most representative clusters are concentrated in the province of Catania, followed by those of Messina and Syracuse, with presence also in those of Enna, Caltanissetta, Palermo and Ragusa.