The authors agree that the surname derives from bynames related to the fact that the first bearers lived near a torrent, or else came from a locality whose name contained the word torrente. F. Miranda illustrates this second possibility with the example of Montagna Torrente Botte, in Molise.

From the geographical point of view, E. Rossoni notes a presence in the Vicenza area (Valdagno), in the Naples area and in that of Salerno (Cava de' Tirreni), as well as in the Trapani area (Favignana, Trapani, Erice, Marsala, Petrosino) and in Palermo. Miranda broadens this picture and indicates that the surname extends across around 190 localities of various Italian regions, with a greater concentration in Sicily, Lombardy and Campania, and a lesser presence in Piedmont, Lazio, Veneto, Liguria, Apulia and Tuscany. In Sicily, the Trapani area gathers the densest nucleus, with eleven localities, followed by smaller nuclei in the Palermo, Agrigento and Catania areas, and an isolated presence in Centuripe, in the Enna area.

Rossoni also records two related variants: Torrenti, with scattered presences throughout Italy and a greater concentration in the north, and Torrentino, of almost occasional appearance in Campania and Sicily.