The authors agree that this surname derives from the term designating the priest, with roots in the Latin presbyter. F. De Laurentiis notes that the surname is widespread in southern Italy and that its base lies in the southern forms preste or pronto, with the meaning "priest", taken as a medieval loan from Old French prestre.

F. Miranda broadens this etymology and indicates that the surname, together with its variants (Lo Preste, Lopreste, Lopresti), comes from modifications of the Latin presbyter, which in Old French gave le prestre and in modern French le prêtre, both with the sense of "priest". Miranda further adds a second hypothesis: the surname could be connected with a behavioural trait of the first bearer, equivalent to "the quick one", following the proposal of Peirce.

As for its geographical distribution, Miranda stresses a presence spread across the whole Italian peninsula, with a particular concentration in Sicily, especially in the Messina, Catania, Palermo, Agrigento and Trapani areas, as well as in the Enna district. Cores are also recorded in Lombardy, Lazio, Piedmont, Tuscany, Calabria and Emilia-Romagna.