E. Rossoni notes that this surname —also present as a place name in Lucania and Calabria— derives from the Greek expression kyr Zosimos, with the meaning of "lord Zosimus". He associates its origin especially with the Cosenza area, in particular with the Mormanno area.

G. Rohlfs develops the same etymology in greater detail: he indicates that the surname comes from the Greek κυρ' Ζώσιμος, composed of the Byzantine honorific treatment kyr- ("lord") plus the proper name Zosimus. Rohlfs characterises it as a surname of Greek-Byzantine origin, present in the Calabrian-Lucanian area, with documentation in Cosenza and its province —in particular in the Castrovillari area—, and also recorded in Lucania and in the Naples area. He also notes that the surname coincides with the name of the comune of Cersòsimo, a locality situated in Lucania.