The authors agree that this surname derives from the given name of the same form, of Hebrew origin and rooted in the Christian tradition. E. Rossoni specifies that the name comes from the demonym of Magdala, from the Aramaic magdala, which means "tower", a small Hebrew town situated on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Rossoni notes that the surname is present unevenly throughout the Italian peninsula and in Sicily, while the form Maddaleno, very rare, has a presence in the Prato area, though it also appears in Campania, Piedmont and Sicily.

A. Bongioanni supplies a more detailed analysis of the derived forms and their regional variants. The popular forms of the name are Malena —proper to Veneto and Liguria— and Lena. Among the derived surnames he mentions Malena (Veneto), Malenotti, Malanotte, Malagnini, Maddalini, Mataloni and possibly Mattalia, documented in the Cuneo area. Bongioanni also records the Friulian surnames Di Lena, Di Lenna and Lenisa, which compete in origin with the derivatives of Elena, and notes that the nickname Leni is common to both names, although for Maddalena the form Nene is more frequent.

According to R. Brondolo, it is a woman's name turned into a matronymic, widespread in Piedmont and in the Swiss Ticino from the 14th century.