E. Rossoni notes that the form Galata is absolutely rare and probably the result of a transcription error of Galatà. For this last, he proposes a derivation from the Greek term galà ("milk"), indicating that it would have designated the trade of milk seller. Rossoni places the surname Galatà as peculiar to the Reggio Calabria area and the Catania area.

F. Miranda agrees in noting Reggio Calabria and Catania as zones of origin, and broadens the geographical distribution: in Sicily, the surname appears in comuni of the Catania, Syracuse, Caltanissetta, Trapani, Messina, Palermo and Enna areas; presence is also recorded in Calabria and in other regions of the north and centre of Italy. As for the etymology, Miranda specifies that the surname derives from the Greek galatàs (γαλατάς, "milkman"), linked to the trade of the first bearer.

G. Rohlfs agrees on the Greek etymology and on the form galatàs ("milkman"), and underlines the Greek-Byzantine character of the surname. He adds that in Greece this word still survives as a surname. Rohlfs documents it in the province of Cosenza —in San Lucido— and in the province of Reggio Calabria —in Polistena, Rosarno and the Bova area—, and records as variants the forms Galati and Galatti. He also notes that the form without accent, Galata, may be the result of the loss of the graphic accent, a frequent phenomenon outside Italy.