E. Rossoni and N. Bergamo agree on the Greek origin of the surname, although they differ in the interpretation: for E. Rossoni it derives from pentemallos ("lock of hair"), while N. Bergamo interprets it as pente mallòs ("five wools").

E. Rossoni adds that the variant Pintimalli, according to the scholar Rohlfs, derives from the Calabrian dialect term pintimallu, which designates a herbaceous plant called plantain. He documents these transformations into a surname at Gioia Tauro from at least the 18th century.