The authors agree that this is a surname of Sicilian origin, derived from the dialect word parrinu, with the double meaning of "priest" and "baptismal godfather".

E. Rossoni notes that Lo Parrino is a very infrequent surname whose origin is not easy to pin down, although the most plausible hypothesis points to Sicily, possibly to the Messina area. Rossoni links the form Lo Parrino with the Sicilian dialect lu parrinu ("the priest"), which in time gave rise to Parrino. He further stresses a connection with the Greco-Albanian communities: the term would go back to the Albanian word prifft ("priest"), which would explain its presence in localities of Greco-Albanian rite such as Palazzo Adriano and Piana degli Albanesi, as well as in Calabria and in Puglia.

V. Blunda stresses the social weight of the term in the rural world: the surname could have arisen as a nickname for the sacristan, for the godson of a notable figure, or for someone who repeatedly acted as a godfather. Blunda thus highlights the communal and ritual dimension of the term, beyond its strictly ecclesiastical sense.