The authors agree that this surname is typical of Sicily and derives from a nickname linked to the Sicilian dialect term restivu (also restìu, ristiu or rristivu), which applied to people means "reluctant, sullen, unwilling." E. De Felice adds that in old Sicilian the term also meant "stammerer," and notes the probable influence of the Old French restii, with the sense of "reluctant, recalcitrant."

F. Miranda incorporates the sense recorded by the lexicographer Piccitto, according to whom rristivu also alludes to people who act with caution or in an unhurried manner, which broadens the semantic profile of the original nickname.

E. Rossoni supplies a concrete documentary fact: the transformation into a surname is recorded in Syracuse in the 17th century, with a master builder named Restivo.

Within Sicily, the surname is concentrated especially in the Palermo area, although Miranda also documents it in the Agrigento, Catania, Enna and Trapani areas. Outside the island, Miranda records its presence in Piedmont, Lombardy, Lazio, Tuscany, Campania, Liguria and Veneto.