The surname Quarta may have a double origin. On the one hand, it is linked with the Latin name Quartus or its feminine form Quarta, as well as with the Italian name Quarto, traditionally used to designate the fourth child within a family.

On the other hand, it may also have a toponymic origin, deriving from place names containing the root Quart-, very diffused in Italy. This type of place name appears in different regions of the country, which explains the wide presence of the surname.

As in many Italian surnames, both interpretations —anthroponymic and toponymic— are not mutually exclusive, and may have independently given rise to different lines that today share the same surname.