Both E. De Felice and E. Rossoni agree that this surname is of toponymic origin, deriving from the name of the city of Parma and from its demonym Parmigiano. In their shared view, the surname arose to indicate the geographic origin of the bearer's lineage from this important center of Emilia-Romagna. Rossoni further notes its spread along the Via Emilia corridor, reinforcing the surname's territorial character within the broader history of Italian surname formation.

De Felice additionally draws attention to regional variants of the demonym, including Parmesano and Parmesàn, which reflect dialectal adaptations across the surrounding areas of Lombardy and the Veneto. It is also recorded that the city of Parma is widely known throughout Italy for its artistic heritage, a prominence that would have made it a natural point of reference for a toponymic surname of this kind.