The surname Olcese is of toponymic and anthroponymic origin, linked to the Ligurian sphere. On this point E. De Felice and E. Rossoni agree, relating it with the place names Sant'Olcese and Olcese, in the Genoa area, from which the surname would have taken form to indicate geographical provenance.

E. Rossoni further adds that the name points back to San Olcese, a 5th-century bishop, whose local cult favoured the diffusion of the anthroponym and its subsequent transformation into a surname. In this way, the origin can be explained both by the reference to the place and by the adoption of the personal name, in a process common in the formation of Italian surnames.