The authors agree that this surname derives from the biblical name Moses, of Hebrew and possibly also Egyptian origin. E. De Felice notes that in Hebrew it is documented as Mōšeh, with the probable meaning "saviour, liberator", from the root mšh ("to draw out, to extract"), Graecized as Mōysēs and Latinized as Moïsès or Mosès. S. Vannozzi adds that the base forms are the Hebrew or Egyptian Mošeh, the Greek Moyses and the Latin Moises / Moses, with the meaning "child saved from the waters" or "reared".

All the authors agree on its character as a surname of Jewish matrix. De Felice and Vannozzi indicate that its diffusion predominates in northern Italy, especially in the north-east —in the regions of Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino-Alto Adige— and in the Trieste area. Vannozzi adds that in some cases it was attributed also to foundling children. E. Rossoni places a documented origin at Sinagra, in the Messina area.

A. Bongioanni stresses that the name Moses is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church as well —with reference to the church of San Moisè in Venice— and notes related derived forms: Moisesso in Friulian, and Moiso and Moizo in the Piedmont area.