The authors agree that this surname derives from the place name Patti, a town in Sicily. E. De Felice notes that the surname was formed from that place name, situated in the province of Messina. E. Rossoni confirms this etymology and specifies that the surname is very common in Sicily, especially in the Messina area.

F. Miranda broadens the explanation, indicating that the surname arose from the transformation into a surname of the place name Patti —a Sicilian comune belonging to the metropolitan city of Messina— and that it alludes to the place of origin of the first bearer or bearers. Miranda details an extended presence throughout Sicily: in the areas of Palermo, Messina, Catania, Trapani, Agrigento, Syracuse and in the Enna area. The surname is also recorded in other regions of Italy, among them Lombardy, Piedmont, Lazio, Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, Campania, Calabria and Veneto.