The authors agree that this surname is an alteration of the surname Pellizzeri, formed by adding a prosthetic prefix im- at the beginning of the word (prosthesis: the addition of a vowel or syllable at the start of a word).

F. Miranda goes deeper into the origin of Pellizzeri and links it to the word peliza ("pelisse, fur garment"), noting that the first bearers of the surname were tanners, skinners or dealers in leather and furs, or else makers of fur garments and cloaks, and that many belonged to the guild or confraternity of that trade. G. P. Holmes also associates the surname with the dialect term peliza, with the generic sense of "hide, skin".

E. Rossoni notes that the surname is very widespread in Sicily, with a notable presence in the Trapani area (Alcamo, Trapani), Catania (Catania, Aci Catena, San Giovanni la Punta), Enna (Troina, Valguarnera Caropepe, Enna), Messina (Milazzo, Santa Teresa di Riva, Pace del Mela) and in Palermo. Miranda adds, for the Syracuse area, the localities of Syracuse, Ferla and Augusta, and extends the presence of the surname to other regions of Italy, among them Lombardy, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Lazio, Veneto, Tuscany, Apulia, Calabria and Campania.