A. Bongioanni interprets this surname as a given name of Greek origin that is almost equivalent to a superlative of "excellent", from the form euáristos. He links its diffusion with the cult of Saint Evaristus, pope and martyr under the emperor Trajan, whose feast is celebrated on 26 October.

V. Blunda starts from the Greek evàrestos, meaning "pleasing, beloved", and derives it from the verb evarèsto, "to please". According to Blunda, the surname arose as the crystallisation of the baptismal name applied to an ancestor in the Byzantine hagiographic tradition, with reference to Pope Saint Evaristus of the first century. This perspective is complementary to that of Bongioanni: both agree on the Greek origin and on the figure of the saint, although Blunda specifies the verbal etymon and the liturgical-devotional context that motivated its adoption as a personal name and, subsequently, as a surname.