E. Rossoni and F. De Laurentiis differ on the origin of the surname.

Rossoni identifies it as a patrician family whose name probably derives from an element of the lineage's coat of arms. He documents its presence from the 12th century in Terra di Lavoro, the Carinola area, where Tommaso was bishop at the end of that century. Giuseppe, who died in 1894, was recognised with the title of Duke of Licignano.

De Laurentiis, on the other hand, suggests that it has as its base a nickname and the word Anfora ("amphora"), a thick two-handled vessel, generally elongated in shape and notably narrowed at the mouth and base, widely used in Antiquity for the storage and transport of liquids.