The authors agree that the surname derives from Bisante, a medieval name linked to Byzantium. E. Rossoni relates it to the gold coin of the Eastern Roman Empire, and documents the surname in the 16th century with the Dalmatian bishop Trifone Bisanti. V. Blunda, on the other hand, proposes as the etymon the Greek Bizantes, a gentilic or personal name linked to the place name Byzantium, which would have functioned as a nickname for the ancestor coming from that culture or region before becoming a family surname.

From the geographical point of view, Rossoni notes that the variant Bisante is very rare and seems peculiar to the area between Lazio and Campania, while Bisanti is typical of the south, with presence especially in the Salento area —that is, the southernmost zone of the Puglia region— and clusters also in the Palermo and Naples areas. Blunda, for his part, places the surname in Sicily, which partially coincides with the distribution noted by Rossoni.