E. Rossoni and V. Blunda agree that the surname may derive from the Germanic root ragin ("counsel," "divine counsel"), although Rossoni also puts forward several alternative hypotheses.

Rossoni notes that the origin is varied. The surname could derive from the Turkish name Ragö, from the medieval Germanic name Rago or Ragonis (from the root ragin, "counsel"), from a syncopated form of the Lombard name Raginperto, from the apocope of the Norman name Ragonaldo, or from the apocope of the demonym ragonese ("of Aragon").

Blunda, on the other hand, for the Sicilian variant derives it from the Germanic personal name Ragin, a hypocoristic form linked to the root ragin ("divine counsel") with the loss of the final nasal consonant, characteristic of some southern adaptations.

Blunda specifies that the root ragin is a phonetic variant of ragan, both linked to the semantic field of the supernatural decision attributed to the gods. It appears as the first element in numerous European anthroponyms such as Reinaldo, Rainerio, Reinhard, Reinmar or Reginaldo, all linked to the ancient Germanic religious imaginary. He notes that the variant Ràina presents the antepenultimate stress proper to southern Italy.