E. De Felice notes that the surname derives from place names of the type Cavanna (such as Cavana di Lesignano, in the province of Parma), in turn coming from the word capanna, a common name for localities characterised by huts or sheds of straw, branches and leaves. He highlights that the Genoese form Cavanna already appears as a gentilic and determination of surname character in the deeds of the notary Lanfranco (1202–1226), where Ido and Ottobonus de Cavanna are mentioned in Genoa. According to De Felice, the forms with -nn- are peculiar to Genoa —where the surname has very high frequency— and to central Liguria, while the forms with -n- correspond to the region of Emilia.

The analysis of surnames of the Alessandria area (see references) adds that the surname goes back to the Piedmontese word cavanna, a continuation of the Latin capanna, and that the lineage linked to the history of Genoa from 1397 is considered native to Novi Ligure. E. Rossoni agrees on the essentials in noting that it derives from a dialectal nickname based on the same word capanna, and places its area of distribution in the area comprised between Genoa, Alessandria and Piacenza.