The surname Olivari may have a double origin, both occupational and anthroponymic. In this sense, E. Rossoni notes that it may derive from the trade of olive picker, or else from modifications of personal names such as Oliverius or Oliviero, very widespread in the Italian tradition. Along the same lines, P. Regati links it specifically with the Camogli area, in Liguria, which reinforces its rootedness in the Ligurian sphere.

In this way, the surname may have been formed both from an activity linked to the cultivation of the olive and from a personal name, in a process frequent in the formation of Italian surnames.