The authors agree that this surname derives from the Greek term ἐπίσκοπος ('bishop'), which passed into Latin as episcopus and gave rise to popular forms with aphaeresis of the initial e-, such as pìscopu or Piscopo. It is a surname proper to southern Italy, with a presence documented especially in Campania, the region of Calabria, Sicily and the Salento area —that is, the southernmost zone of the region of Apulia, in southern Italy.

F. De Laurentiis notes that the surname was formed from a nickname or title of dignity and of religious office, Episcopo, from which derived Piscopo by aphaeresis. He highlights that the form with initial e- continues a learned or semi-learned tradition, as opposed to the popular form without it, and documents the use of Piscopus as early as the 12th century in the Bari area. He further notes that the Spanish form 'obispo' represents the popular continuation of the same Latin etymon.

G. Rohlfs stresses the Greek-Byzantine character of the surname and links it with the historical presence of the Byzantine religious hierarchy in southern Italy. He mentions its distribution in Reggio Calabria, the Salento area, Naples and Sicily.

V. Blunda supplies the Sicilian dialect perspective: the word pìscopu preserves the Byzantine Greek epískopos, incorporated into Sicilian during the Byzantine domination. He adds that as a surname it could have originated in a nickname applied to a person of solemn bearing.

P. Durante confirms the Greek origin of the surname, relating it to the term epískopos in the sense of 'bishop', without adding information beyond that of the other authors.