The authors agree that this surname is of Greek origin and means "master of the house" or "lord of the household". The base etymological form is the Greek οἰκοδεσπότης, composed of oikos, "house", and despótēs, "lord".

G. Rohlfs specifies that the surname is documented in the province of Reggio Calabria —in localities such as Antonimina and Samo— and in the province of Catanzaro, in the Soverato, Sellìa and Stróngoli area. In Sicily it also appears under the variants Codispoti and Cotispoti. Rohlfs links the direct form of the surname to the Grecanic dialect of the Bova area, where the word koδespòti is recorded, with the sense of "master of the house" or "paterfamilias", and associates it with the domestic organisation of Byzantine tradition.

V. Blunda adds that the term functioned originally as a nickname applied to the head of the family or to the owner of a house of a seigniorial character, within the framework of the Byzantine administration. P. Durante agrees with the Greek etymology and the translation as "master of the house", without adding additional information on geographical distribution or variants.