E. Rossoni notes that the surname would derive from nicknames related to the place name Genoa, although in some cases it could also be a variant of the medieval name Genovino. He indicates that Genovese is distributed throughout Italy, while the variant Genovesi is concentrated along the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea between Genoa and Livorno, with specific zones in the Bologna area and in the Syracuse area.

F. Miranda goes deeper into the origin of the place name, noting that it could go back to an Indo-European root (geneu, "knee", or genu, "jaw, mouth"), with an allusion to the mouth of an ancient river or to the shape of the settlement on the sea. He also proposes an origin in the Celtic word genua ("entrance, outlet to the sea") or in the Latin janua ("door, access route towards northern Italy"). In all cases, the surname would have arisen as an ethnic nickname to designate someone originating from Genoa or linked to that city —as a merchant, sailor or craftsman—.

Miranda adds that the surname, present throughout Italy, shows a concentration especially notable in Sicily, with zones of high frequency in the provinces of Messina, Palermo, Catania, Trapani, Agrigento and Enna. Relevant nuclei are also recorded in Campania, Lombardy, Piedmont, Liguria, Veneto and Basilicata.