The authors agree that this is a surname of Sicilian origin, derived from the place name Lentini, a town located in the province of Syracuse. F. Miranda specifies that Lentini is an ancient Greek city founded by Chalcidian colonists around 730 BC, known in antiquity as Leontini, and that it was the homeland of the philosopher Gorgias. Miranda further notes that the surname is present throughout Italy, with the most prominent specific areas in Sicily, Lombardy, Piedmont, Lazio, Puglia and Calabria, and with a lesser presence in Basilicata, Tuscany, Campania and Emilia-Romagna.

In Sicily, Miranda details its diffusion in the Trapani, Catania, Palermo, Syracuse, Enna and Agrigento areas. E. Rossoni adds that there is a secondary core in the region of Basilicata, linked to a family that later moved to Monopoli; the details concerning that particular family, however, fall outside the scope of this entry. E. De Felice confirms the Sicilian origin of the surname without adding information beyond what has already been noted.