E. Rossoni notes that this surname derives from diminutive modifications of the abbreviated form of the name Arrigo. The transformation into a surname is recorded in the 17th century with Giovanni Rigotti, governor of Riva del Garda between 1628 and 1634. Rossoni identifies a main area in Trentino, another in the Turin area and upper Novara, and a third between Gorizia and Trieste. He further mentions the variants Rigotto, very rare and proper to the Vicenza area, and Rigucci, very rare and characteristic of central Italy, especially of the Perugia area, with presences in the Ancona area and in Rome.

E. De Stefani proposes an alternative etymology. Although he recognizes the connection with the hypocoristic Rigo of the name Arrigo, he rules it out in favour of a reading as a truncated form of (Do)rigotti, derived from the name Odorigo. This name comes from the Old High German uodal, "homeland, patrimony," combined with the Germanic ending -ric, "powerful, rich," the base of Ulrico and of its Friulian variant Odorico/Odorigo. This reading is supported by the presence of the surname Dorigo in the Socchieve valley and by the attestation, in Ladin zones of Trentino-Alto Adige, of the alternation Dorigo/Rigo. De Stefani documents the surname in Nonta, a locality of the Carnia, in the province of Udine, from at least the mid-17th century.