From the word tartaglia = stutterer, used as a nickname.

The authors agree that this surname derives from a medieval nickname or byname linked to a characteristic of speech. V. Blunda specifies that it is a term of Sicilian dialectal origin: the word tartàgghia, meaning "stammerer", which designated the individual with difficulty of articulation, and that as a surname it could have originated in a nickname applied to someone recognised in their environment for that particularity.

F. Miranda broadens the etymological scope by noting that the byname Tartaglia was not exclusive to Sicily, and provides a notable historical testimony: the mathematician Niccolò Tartaglia (Brescia, 1499 – Venice, 1557), celebrated for the triangle that bears his name, related in his work Quesiti et inventioni diverse (Venice, 1554) that he adopted that surname from a nickname given to him as a child, on account of a serious wound to the head that had affected his speech.

As for its geographical distribution, Miranda notes that the surname is present in specific and scattered zones throughout Italy, with a greater concentration in Campania, Lazio and Lombardy, and a presence also in Apulia, Piedmont, Molise, Abruzzo and Veneto. In Sicily it appears in all the provinces, especially in the Syracuse area —with localities such as Palazzolo Acreide, Floridia and Cassaro—, in the Catania area —Catania, Gravina di Catania and Tremestieri Etneo—, in the Palermo area —Palermo, Capaci and Carini— and in the Enna area, with a presence in Centuripe.