E. Rossoni proposes that this surname could derive from the Arabic name Zihn or from the Hebrew Zina, meaning "luminous, resplendent", although he considers it more probable that it comes from the dialectal term zinna, of Lombard origin, with the sense of "prominence". F. Miranda agrees on the first two hypotheses —Arabic and Lombard dialectal— and broadens the meaning of the term: besides "prominence", he notes that zinna may refer to a merlon, that is, an architectural element of fortifications, and that in the Calabrian dialect it also means "edge, extremity".

V. Blunda offers a different perspective: he considers that the surname is of Germanic origin and derives from a Lombard anthroponym, possibly a hypocoristic form of compound names on Germanic roots. Blunda warns that the popular interpretation associating the surname with the Italian term zinna —with a sense related to the female breast or to a rocky peak— constitutes a false etymology, since that common noun would have a different origin, without relation to the Germanic anthroponym. For this author, Germanic anthroponymy reached Sicily through the continental medieval resettlement and remained active in the local dialect.

As for its geographical distribution, Rossoni and Miranda agree in pointing to Sicily as the region of greatest concentration, with a documented presence in Trapani, Palermo, the Agrigento area —especially Sciacca and Menfi—, the Catania area —with Castel di Iudica as a reference—, the Caltanissetta area and the Enna area. Miranda broadens this information and indicates that the surname also extends through Calabria and Campania in southern Italy, as well as through central and northern regions such as Lombardy, Piedmont, Tuscany, Lazio and Liguria. Rossoni also mentions the variant Zinnà, documented in San Calogero, in the Vibo Valentia area.