E. De Felice notes that this is a surname of Piedmontese origin, formed from the place name Canavese —and from its patronymic variant Canavesio—, the name of a historical region situated between the Aosta Valley and the Turin plain.

E. Rossoni broadens this perspective and indicates that the surname would derive from the place name Canavese, with a strong presence in the Turin area, or from the name of the geographical subregion of the Canavese, located to the north of that area and whose main centre is Ivrea. Rossoni also specifies its distribution: in Piedmont it appears in the Turin area and in the Cuneo area, as well as in the Imperia area; in Lombardy, it is recorded in the north of the Milan area and in the Varese area, where the documented form is Canavesi.