The authors agree in noting that this surname is of Sicilian origin, with a central presence in the Messina area, although they differ as to its etymon.

E. Rossoni proposes two lines of interpretation: the first links it to a nickname related to physical characteristics, as a contraction of the Sicilian dialectal term capiddi rizzi ("curly hair"); the second notes a possible derivation from the place name Capizzi, a locality of the Messina area.

F. De Laurentiis also maintains the toponymic origin in Capizzi, but adds that the base capo ("head") could generate nicknames referring to the external appearance of a person or to the role of the one who leads a group of agricultural workers or shepherds.

G. P. Holmes links the surname to the name of the mountainous Messinese centre and notes that this place name has a Late Greek origin.

V. Blunda proposes, on the other hand, a directly Greek etymon: the term capýtion, preserved in the Byzantine tradition of southern Italy. According to this hypothesis, the surname would fix the Italianised form of that personal name, with the Greek y resolved as i.