The authors agree in noting that Andolina is a surname of Sicilian origin. Two main hypotheses explain its etymology: one of Arabic origin and another of Germanic origin. E. Rossoni proposes that it could derive from the Arabic term el Andolus, meaning "a person of the Vandals", and notes its presence in Sicily since the 16th century. F. Miranda also takes up this Arabic hypothesis and adds the possibility that it comes from a Lombard personal name, Andolenus, which over time became a surname.

V. Blunda develops the Germanic route in greater detail: he considers that the surname derives from the anthroponym Andolenus, a Latinised form of Andolfo or of a derivative of the Germanic root and ("effort, struggle"). The suffix -enus is, according to this author, common in the medieval Latinisation of Germanic names in notarial documents. Blunda also notes that the variants Annolino and Antolina reflect the consonantal and vocalic oscillations peculiar to the Sicilian dialect.

Miranda specifies that the surname, although typically Sicilian, is found spread across several regions of Italy, among them Lombardy, Piedmont, Tuscany, Lazio, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto and Liguria. In Sicily it is present in all its provinces, with concentration especially in the areas of Palermo, Catania, Ragusa, Syracuse and Enna. Miranda also records the variant Landolina, documented in the areas of Palermo, Syracuse, Agrigento and Caltanissetta.