The authors agree that this surname derives from the Greek term politis ("citizen" or "inhabitant of the city"), which would have functioned originally as a nickname to designate people of urban origin.

E. Rossoni documents the presence of the surname in a broad southern arc of Italy: in the Avellino area —specifically Pietradefusi—, in Naples, in the Benevento area —San Giorgio del Sannio and Benevento—, in the Lecce area —Leverano—, and in the Cosenza area —Cosenza, Amantea, Paola, Lago, Fiumefreddo Bruzio and San Lucido—, besides in Sicily, where it appears in Catania and in the Messina area, in particular in Villafranca Tirrena. Rossoni further distinguishes the variant Politanò, with a final accent, proper to the Reggio Calabria area, with a special concentration in Polistena, Cittanova, Cinquefrondi and Taurianova.

G. Rohlfs frames the surname within the Greek-Byzantine tradition of southern Italy and documents it in Calabria, both in the cities of Catanzaro and Cosenza and in localities of their provinces: Amantea, Lago, San Lucido, Crotone, Nocera and Palermiti. Rohlfs relates it to the related forms Politi, Politanò and Pulitano, and notes that its presence reflects the Byzantine influence in the region.