E. Rossoni proposes that this surname would be a patronymic derived from the medieval feminine name Tessa, documented in a Tuscan register of 1280 and in an inventory of goods of the Municipality of Siena of the 14th century. The surname presents multiple independent stems of origin (ceppi), arisen in different regions without a direct relation between them: one in the Turin area, especially in Giaveno and Coazze; another in the Lucca area, in Seravezza; and a third in the Bari area, in Canosa di Puglia.

R. Brondolo links it, on the other hand, to the form (Con)tessa, that is, "countess", used as a woman's name, and places its origin in northern Italy.