The authors agree that this surname derives from the term canonico, referring to the religious member of the Chapter of a Cathedral, an office that could be held both by priests and by laymen. The surname would have arisen to designate families in which some member held that ecclesiastical function.

E. De Felice classifies it as a southern surname, and notes that it comes from a name of religious office and rank that circulated first as a medieval name and nickname before becoming a surname.

E. Rossoni specifies the areas of presence: in southern Italy, in the region of Calabria —especially in the Cosenza area, in localities such as Cassano allo Ionio and San Marco Argentano—, in Sicily —with greater concentration in Avola and Syracuse—, and in Campania, in the Naples and Avellino areas. Rossoni also records presence in central Italy, in the region of the Marche —in the Ancona area, including Falconara Marittima— and in Rome, where he also documents the variant Canonici.