E. Rossoni proposes two possible origins for this surname. The first is of a patronymic type: it would have arisen from mothers called Pola, an archaic form of Paola, giving rise to a surname of a matronymic character. The second points to the place name of the Dalmatian city of Pola, today Pula, in present-day Croatia. Rossoni documents its presence in Lombardy, Trentino, the Ferrara area and the Sassari area.

F. De Laurentiis holds exclusively the toponymic origin, considering that the surname derives directly from the name of the Dalmatian city of Pola.

R. Brondolo proposes, on the other hand, a different etymology: he derives it from the Latin name Paulus, through the abbreviated form Pol. According to this author, bearers of the surname are documented in Brusio, in the canton of Graubünden (Switzerland), from 1630; in the Mesolcina from 1622; and in Vesime, in southern Piedmont, from the 17th century.