F. De Laurentiis considers that the surname derives from mazza. F. Miranda develops this hypothesis in greater detail: the surname could come from a nickname based on the word mazza ("an ancient weapon with a handle"), or else from the term ammazza, used in a literal or figurative sense. Miranda also notes the possibility that it derives from the medieval Germanic name Mazzi or Mazzo, or even from a transcription error for the name Masone, an apocopated form of Tommasone.

Miranda adds an alternative route for Sardinia: in that region, mazzone is a synonym for "fox", so that the surname could have arisen as a nickname applied to someone known for his cunning, as L. Pazzola notes. The surname is spread throughout Italy, with the greatest presence in the southern regions: Puglia, Campania, Sicily and Calabria. In Sicily it appears in every province, with a particular concentration in the Catania, Syracuse and Messina areas, and in the Enna area.