The authors differ as to the origin of the surname. E. Rossoni locates it specifically in Gerace, in the Reggio Calabria area, and proposes two possible etymologies: on the one hand, derivation from the place name Gratteri, a locality in the Palermo area; on the other, a possible development from dialect modifications of the Greek name Krateros.

P. Durante, by contrast, holds to a Greek origin linked to the semantic field of the painter or writer, derived from the Greek verb grapho ("to write", "to draw", "to paint"). This etymology would point to an ancestor associated with such activities, although Durante does not specify the geographical location of the surname.