The authors differ substantially on the origin of this surname. E. Rossoni proposes a toponymic derivation: the surname would come from places called Tramonte —documented in the Lucca area and in the Padua area— or Tramonti, present in several regions, among them Udine, Pordenone, Frosinone, Cosenza and Salerno. According to Rossoni, the form Tramonti, typical of Romagna and Tuscany, would derive from the Latin intra montes, "between the mountains".

V. Blunda, on the other hand, holds that the surname is of Sicilian origin and has a Germanic root: it would come from the compound Thrasa Munda, formed by thrasa ("bold, impetuous") and munda ("protection, guardianship"), with the overall sense of "protection of the bold" or "guardianship of the brave". Blunda warns that the popular interpretation associating it with the Italian expression tra monte ("between the mountain") is a false etymology, generated by the phonetic similarity with the Romance lexicon, without relation to the original Germanic compound. The root thrasa appears also in anthroponyms such as Transirico or Tresca, linked to the Germanic martial imaginary.

As for the zones of presence, Rossoni records the form Tramonte mainly in the Trapani area and in the Venice area; Tramonti in the Ravenna, Forlì and Florence areas; Tramontin in the Pordenone area and in the Belluno area; Tramontina in the Pordenone area; and Tramontini in the Udine area.