E. Rossoni notes that Cariani is characteristic of the Emilian area comprising the Modena, Bologna and Ferrara areas, with presence also in Lazio. The form Cariano, much scarcer, appears in the Grosseto and Crotone areas. According to Rossoni, both forms could derive from a gentilic referring to the Anatolian region of Karya, from where numerous refugees fleeing the Turks in the 14th century would have emigrated.

F. De Laurentiis proposes, on the other hand, that Cariani would be an altered form of the surname Cavriani. For the southern forms, De Laurentiis notes as the base the place name Caria, frequent in various variants in the Cosenza area, in the region of Calabria.