The authors agree that this surname derives from the place name Paternò, a town in the province of Catania, in Sicily. E. De Felice briefly notes that toponymic filiation as the origin of the surname.

E. Rossoni broadens the analysis and indicates that the possible derivations include a direct reference to the place name, the allusion to fields owned by a Roman citizen named Paterno, the finding of children of unknown parents in Paternò, or the settlement of Jewish families in that town.

F. Miranda specifies that the form Paterno —without an accent— is an incorrect spelling variant of Paternò. He notes that for the Byzantines that town was called Paternòn and in Latin Paternum. Some scholars interpret the place name as “fields of the Roman citizen Paternò”; others as Paternus praedium, that is, “property inherited from the father.” Miranda agrees with Rossoni on the hypotheses regarding children of unknown parents and Jewish population settled in the area.

The surname presents multiple independent stocks of origin (ceppi), arising in different regions without a direct relationship between them. Miranda documents its presence in Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, Campania, Sicily, Calabria, Lombardy and Lazio, with a concentration in Sicily, especially in the provinces of Catania, Ragusa, Enna and Palermo.