E. Rossoni proposes two lines of origin for this surname. On the one hand, it could derive from an apocopated form of the name Costante; on the other, he suggests a toponymic origin, linking it with places such as Stanzano di Marzabotto, in the Bologna area, Fosso di Stanzano, in the Florence area, or Stanzano di Rocca Santo Stefano, in Lazio. The areas of greatest historical presence include Bologna, Modena and Ferrara, with nuclei also in the Verbano-Cusio-Ossola area, in the Florence area and in Rome.

P. Canè approaches the origin from a different and more speculative perspective. He rules out that the surname has a direct relation with the term stanza ("room") and proposes instead a possible link with the concept of stare-stanziale ("to be settled, sedentary"), in opposition to the idea of nomad or gypsy. He also contemplates, without going into detail, a possible origin in personal names fallen out of use, in distant place names or even in Hebrew, although he acknowledges that none of these hypotheses is proven.