E. De Felice identifies this surname as proper to southern Calabria and derives it from the local name and nickname Rodinò, taken from Griko —the variety of Greek historically spoken in localities such as Bova— rodinò, which points back to the Modern Greek rhodinós and the Ancient Greek rhodinós, with the meaning of "rosy, made of roses" or, in a more condensed sense, "red."

G. Rohlfs agrees on the Greek origin and on the etymon ῥόδινος ("red, rosy"), but broadens the geographic distribution: he documents the surname in the city of Catanzaro, in the province of Catanzaro (Vibo), in the province of Reggio Calabria (Gerace, Polìstena) and also in the Neapolitan area. Rohlfs further notes that the form Rodinòs survives as a surname in Greece, and refers to the word Ròdano as a related entry.