E. De Felice considers that this surname derives from the place name Sutera, a locality in the province of Caltanissetta, in Sicily.

G. Rohlfs proposes, on the other hand, a Greek-Byzantine origin: he relates it to the Greek sōtèras, meaning "saviour", and notes that in Greece the form Sotèras survives as a surname. Rohlfs documents its presence in Basilicata —specifically in Ferrandina—, and also in the Calabrian dialectal area and in Sicily.

The two interpretations are not necessarily mutually exclusive: it is possible that the Sicilian place name Sutera in turn has a Greek root, although none of the sources explicitly establishes that connection.