E. Rossoni derives the surname from the medieval Lombard name Bava, documented in a deed of sale of 1132 in Pavia. The surname presents multiple independent stocks of origin (ceppi), arisen in different regions without direct relation to each other. The main cluster is concentrated in Piedmont, with presence in the Turin area —including localities such as Castelnuovo Don Bosco—, the Alessandria area —Novi Ligure and Cabella Ligure— and the Cuneo area, especially in Mondovì. Rossoni also documents clusters in Genoa, Rome, Naples and Calabria, in the Catanzaro, Reggio Calabria and Vibo Valentia areas.

V. Blunda proposes a different etymology for the Sicilian variant of the surname: he derives it from the Greek Babas, a personal name preserved in the Byzantine tradition of southern Italy. According to Blunda, the Sicilian form represents an Italianisation of that original name, which became a surname along the family line and remained fixed in the onomastics of the island.