The authors agree in noting that the surname derives from the place name Miranda, although they differ on the details. E. De Felice links it specifically to the place name Miranda, in the province of Campobasso, and notes that the variant Amiranda incorporates a prothetic a, probably reinforced by a popular-etymological crossing with the verb ammirare.

F. Miranda broadens the origin: the surname may derive from localities called Miranda in Portugal or Spain, or else from the comune of Miranda, in the province of Isernia (Molise), whose name comes from the Latin mirandus, "wonderful, admirable" (ad miranda, "things to admire"). Miranda also proposes a second hypothesis, according to which the surname could go back to the Spanish word miralla, with the meaning "watchtower".

The surname is widely diffused throughout Italy, with a notable presence in Campania, Lombardy, Lazio, Sicily, Tuscany, Piedmont, Basilicata, Puglia, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Calabria and Liguria. In Sicily it is recorded in the Palermo, Syracuse, Ragusa, Trapani and Catania areas and in the comune of Regalbuto, in the Enna area.