F. Miranda notes that this is an infrequent Sicilian surname, with a presence in seventeen municipalities. Its main zone of concentration is found in Sicily, particularly in the Catania area —including Acireale—, in the Caltanissetta area and in the Enna area, with localities such as Leonforte, Gagliano Castelferrato, Assoro, Regalbuto and Catenanuova. It is also recorded in small groups outside the island, in Lombardy, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Lazio and Abruzzo.

Both authors agree on the dialectal origin of the surname: it is a variant of barbiere, "barber", in its Sicilian dialectal form varvèri. V. Blunda specifies that the term designates the artisan who shaved and cut hair, a trade with an extended presence in all the neighbourhoods of Sicily, and suggests that the surname could have arisen as an occupational nickname applied to one who devoted himself to that service. Miranda, for his part, broadens that historical context: in the past, the barber also fulfilled the functions of cerusico, that is, a kind of minor doctor who performed small surgical interventions such as tooth extraction and bloodletting.