E. Rossoni notes that this surname is characteristic of the region of Emilia-Romagna, with presence especially in the Bologna area —including Imola— and in the Ferrara area. According to Rossoni, it could derive as a gentilic from the zone of the Civola canal, in the Veneto, although he considers it more probable that it comes from nicknames linked to the archaic dialectal term civola (onion), in allusion to the trade of agricultural day labourers.

F. De Laurentiis proposes, on the other hand, a different etymology: he sees in the place name Civo, a locality in the province of Sondrio, the base of this surname.