E. De Felice and E. Rossoni agree that the surname Gravina is primarily of toponymic origin, deriving from places bearing the name Gravina in southern Italy or from the demonym gravinese, used to identify someone originating from one of those localities.

According to E. De Felice, the surname is connected with several important place names, including Gravina in Puglia in the province of Bari, Gravina di Catania in the province of Catania, and other localities in the province of Cosenza. In this sense, the surname originally identified people according to their geographical origin.

E. Rossoni expands this interpretation by noting that the surname is characteristic of central and southern Italy and may derive not only from specific towns but also from the geographical term gravina. In southern Italian geography, a gravina is a deep ravine, gorge or rocky cleft carved by water erosion into limestone terrain, a landscape feature particularly common in parts of Apulia, Basilicata and Calabria.

Rossoni specifically associates the surname with localities such as Gravina di Catania in Sicily, Gravina in Puglia in the Bari area, Montegravina in the Brindisi area, and Roggiano Gravina in the province of Cosenza. As a result, the surname may indicate either ancestry from one of these places or a historical connection to an area characterized by a prominent gravina.

Today, Gravina remains a surname closely associated with southern Italy, reflecting both the importance of local place names and the distinctive geography of the regions where it originated.