E. Rossoni notes that this surname derives from the condition of the first bearer: an abandoned child, that is, a foundling given to public charity. Rossoni also refers to the variant Espositi as a related surname. The form Degliesposti, written as a single word, is rarer and is concentrated likewise in the Bologna area.

P. Canè frames this surname within the so-called "augural" names, a category that groups the surnames given to abandoned children. He places it together with other Italian equivalents of the same tradition: Innocenti, Esposito, Proietti and Trovato, among others.

As for its geographical distribution, Rossoni indicates that Degli Esposti is typical of the Bologna area and of the Modena area, with specific presence also in the Perugia area and in Rome.