The authors agree that the surname derives from a medieval personal name, although they differ on its ultimate origin. E. Rossoni holds that it comes from the medieval name Nania, a syncopated form of Anania, and that the surname arose from the personal name of the founder of the line.

P. Durante proposes two hypotheses: that the origin is Greek, from the term neanias ("young man"), or else that it likewise derives from Anania, without deciding between one and the other.

As for its geographical distribution, Rossoni notes that it is a surname typical of the Calabro-Sicilian area, in the south. It is documented at Taurianova, in the Reggio Calabria area; in localities of the Catanzaro area; and at Petilia Policastro, in the Crotone area. The greatest concentration is recorded in the Messina area —in particular at Milazzo, Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, Messina and San Filippo del Mela— and in Catania, with an important cluster also in the Palermo area.