The authors agree that this surname is of anthroponymic origin and admits several etymological hypotheses. E. Rossoni notes that it could derive from the medieval name Gottus, documented in Dante Alighieri's De vulgari eloquentia; from the medieval term gottus, referring to the ethnic group of the Goths; or from a nickname based on the dialect word gotto ("glass" or "cup"). Rossoni documents its fixing as a surname in the Milan area from the 15th century and in the Bergamo area from the 16th.

F. De Laurentiis broadens the possibilities: besides the aforementioned gotto ("cup or glass, with or without a handle", alluding to drinkers), he considers the demonym goti, referring to the Germanic people of the Goths —associated with people of rough behaviour—, and the term gotta, the name of the disease caused by the deposit of uric acid in the joint tissues, particularly widespread in the Po plain. De Laurentiis also mentions, as a less likely hypothesis, that the surname might be a hypocoristic of Rovigotti.

A relation with the name Godo, linked to roots of religious meaning, is likewise considered. As for its distribution, Rossoni identifies a main area between Bergamo and Brescia, another in the Bologna area and an isolated presence in Trieste.