The authors differ on the origin of the surname. E. Rossoni derives it from the medieval name Tassone, documented since the year 1000. In a letter of June 1086 it is recorded that Tassone, son of the deceased Donadeo, donated goods to the monastery of Farfa. In Emilia it is documented between the 14th and 15th centuries with Filippo di Pietro Tassoni, a patrician of Modena and doctor of Medicine who graduated in Ferrara in 1404. According to Rossoni, the surname has its main nucleus in the Locride area, in the Reggio Calabria area, with a secondary presence in Piedmont, Lombardy and Lazio; the variant Tassoni, on the other hand, is concentrated in the Bologna area and in the Teramo area.

P. Durante proposes, on the other hand, a Greek origin, relating the surname with the term tasso, in the sense of "agent" or "administrator".