The authors agree that the surname was formed from the personal name Arcangelo, linked to the term arcàngelo ("angel of superior rank").

E. De Felice specifies that it is a Christian personal name of devotion established in the Middle Ages. It continues the Latin Archangelus, from the Greek archángelos ("supreme chief of the angels"). He notes that the name became established with the cult of the three archangels Gabriel, Michael and Raphael.

De Felice adds that in some cases the base may also be the place name Sant'Arcangelo, common in Italy (in the provinces of Forlì, Perugia, Salerno, Avellino, Potenza, Messina, among others). He notes that the surname is widespread in central and also northern Italy.

E. Rossoni agrees that it derives, directly or through augmentative or patronymic forms, from the medieval name Arcangelus, or from place names containing the root Arcangelo, such as Sant'Arcangelo. He notes that the forms with the prefix De indicate "the son of". He documents the transformation into a surname in the Marche from the 17th century among families of Jewish origin.