The authors agree that the surname derives from the occupational name tessitore ("weaver"), linked to the Latin verb texere ("to weave") and to the Latin nouns textor, textoris, texarius and texator.

E. De Felice notes that the form tessitore is typical of central and southern Italy, while the north presents variants such as testór(e), tessaro, tessèr(o), tesadro, tesàder and tsàder. Among these, Testore and Tessore predominate in the north-west, whereas Tessiero, Tessaro and Tessadro —with their apocopated forms— are typical of the north-east of Italy, in the regions of Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino-Alto Adige.

E. Rossoni specifies that Tessitore is concentrated in the Caserta and Naples area, with stems also in the Savona and Palermo areas. The variant Tessitori, much rarer, appears to be typical of the Udine area.