E. De Felice identifies this surname as of Sicilian origin, formed from the place name Floridia, a locality in the province of Syracuse.

F. Miranda broadens this characterisation: it is a toponymic surname whose first bearers were natives of Floridia, whose name would derive from the Latin flora dies or from the adjective floridus. According to Miranda, the surname is peculiar to southern Sicily and is spread throughout the island, with notable presence in the Catania, Syracuse, Ragusa, Messina, Trapani and Palermo areas. Some families with this surname are recorded also in Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany and Lazio.