E. Rossoni notes that the surname shows a distribution across several regions of northern Italy. Magon has specific areas in Lombardy and in Veneto, between the provinces of Padua and Rovigo. Magone, of very scarce occurrence, would appear to be proper to Piedmont. Magoni, for its part, is concentrated mainly in the Bergamo area —especially in Selvino, with a presence also in Nembro, Zogno, Seriate and Ranica— and further has a specific area in the province of Bologna, at San Giovanni in Persiceto.

Rossoni proposes two possible origins. On the one hand, it could derive from the name of Germanic origin Magone, documented in a deed of sale and investiture of the year 1152 at Magenta, in the province of Milan. On the other, it could come from a place name: a deed of 1124 in Brescia mentions a place called loco Magone Vico. The author further adds that Magone was also a name of Phoenician origin: the brother of the Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca bore precisely that name.

F. De Laurentiis offers a different reading and considers the surname a Venetan variant of Maghini.