According to F. De Laurentiis, the surname Cavolo derives from a nickname, a trade name or a place name based on the Italian word cavolo ("cabbage"). In this sense, the surname could have originated as a reference to a person dedicated to the cultivation or trade of this vegetable, or to someone who lived in an area characterised by its production.

V. Blunda traces the term to the Greek caulòs, also with the meaning of "cabbage". He notes that the surname could have arisen as a nickname applied to the one who cultivated or sold this vegetable, or as a microtoponym that identified a person coming from a plot where it was cultivated. This formation responds to a frequent pattern in Sicilian onomastics, where numerous surnames have their origin in plants, crops or characteristics of the agricultural landscape.

Taken together, Cavolo is a surname of occupational or toponymic origin related to the cultivation, trade or presence of the cabbage, preserving a close link with the rural and agricultural world.