G. Rohlfs identifies this surname as of Greek-Byzantine origin, documented in Calabria: in the Catanzaro area (in the localities of Briàtico and Tropea) and in the Reggio Calabria area (Taurianova and the Aspromonte area). The variant Epifani appears in the Cosenza area, in Castrolibero. Rohlfs derives it from the Greek name Ἐπιφάνιος, in turn coming from ἐπιφάνεια, meaning "apparition, Epiphany"; he also notes that in Greece the form Epiphanis survives. The associated variants are Epifani and Epifano.

V. Blunda, from the Sicilian perspective, starts from the Greek etymon Epiphànios with the sense of "illustrious, noble", and links it to the verb epiphaino, "to manifest". According to this author, the surname originated as a crystallisation of the baptismal name applied to an ancestor in the Byzantine hagiographic tradition, in reference to Saint Epiphanius of Salamis. P. Durante agrees in noting the Greek origin and its character as a proper name, without adding additional details.

A. Bongioanni provides a complementary perspective from the use of the name as a given name: he notes that it habitually evoked birth on the day of the Epiphany.