E. Rossoni considers that the surname would derive from dialectal nicknames originating in diminutive forms of the Latin word caneva or canova, meaning "cellar", alluding to the trade of tavern-keeper or to the habit of the founder of the lineage of frequenting that space. Rossoni places its presence in the region of Campania, especially in the Naples area, with variants such as Cannaviello documented also in the Avellino and Salerno areas.

V. Blunda proposes a different etymology: the surname would come from the Greek Cannabàlios, linked to the root cannabàs, with the sense of "hemp worker", parallel to the surname Cannavà. According to Blunda, the Italianised form would have fixed the current spelling by means of a suffix of Greek derivation, and its presence is recorded in Sicily.

The two authors diverge both in the etymology and in the area of origin: Rossoni points to continental southern Italy, in Campania, while Blunda links it to Sicily with a Greek substrate. The surname therefore presents independent clusters of origin arisen in different regions without direct relation to each other.