E. De Felice considers that this surname derives from an old personal name, arisen in turn from a nickname: the forms Sinatra, Sinatora, Senatra and Senatora are documented in Catanzaro as early as 1310, and survive in the place names Sansinàtoru and Santa Sinàtora. The etymological base would be the Latin senator (genitive senatoris), with the meaning of "senator," adapted according to Sicilian and Calabrian phonetics, and transferred also as a feminine name.

E. Rossoni places the surname mainly in the south-east of Sicily, with a presence also in the Palermo area, and documents traces of the family in Cannizzaro, in the Catania area, during the 17th century. He agrees with De Felice that the form derives from a dialect modification of the Latin senator.