G. Rohlfs identifies this surname as of Greek-Byzantine origin, a variant of Crisarà, documented in the province of Reggio Calabria, specifically in Gioiosa Jonica. He derives it from the Greek κρησαρᾶς, meaning "the one who makes or sells rags". Rohlfs also notes that in Argentina it may appear without an accent, under the form Crisera.

V. Blunda agrees on the Greek origin, but records the form cresaràs and proposes a different translation: "the one who makes or sells sieves", that is, screens used for sifting. According to Blunda, the surname would have arisen as a professional nickname applied to the one who exercised that artisanal trade, and he relates it to other words of the same lexical field, such as Coscino and Cuscinà.

Both authors agree on the Greek origin and on the fact that the surname designates a craftsman or seller, but they differ on the object of that trade: Rohlfs points to rags, while Blunda notes sieves or screens. This divergence may reflect dialectal or regional variants of the underlying Greek etymon.