E. Rossoni proposes a toponymic origin: the surname would indicate that the founders of this lineage came from the town of Atripalda, in the Avellino area, formerly called Tripaldo. The zones where the surname has a presence include the Potenza area (localities such as Avigliano, Potenza and Montalbano Jonico), the Taranto area (Manduria, Lizzano, Taranto, Maruggio and Sava), the Vibo Valentia area (Limbadi) and the Crotone area.

V. Blunda maintains, on the other hand, a Germanic origin, and considers it a surname typical of Sicily. He derives it from the compound Athar Balda, meaning "bold noble" or "valiant of the lineage", formed by athar —a variant of athal, alluding to nobility or belonging to the aristocracy— and balda ("bold", "daring"). Blunda also notes the altered form Tribaudino, with the Italian suffix -ino of diminutive value, documented in medieval onomastics. According to this author, the surname was preserved especially in southern Italy, in zones where Lombard anthroponymy spread through the Duchy of Benevento and persisted in notarial registers until the late Middle Ages.