The authors agree that this surname probably derives from a place name related to the presence of a signalling lighthouse, and point to the Reggio Calabria and Catania areas as the main areas of origin.

E. Rossoni further notes the existence of the variant Lofaro, extremely rare and typical of the Reggio Calabria area.

F. Miranda broadens the etymology: the term faro comes from the Greek φαρος (fàros) and the Latin pharus, the name of an Egyptian island situated at the entrance to the port of Alexandria, where Ptolemy II Philadelphus had a tower built from which a beam of light was projected, visible to seafarers. Miranda further mentions Sicilian place names associated with this root, such as Punta Faro or Capo Peloro, on the Strait of Messina. He adds that the surname shows specific areas in Sicily —with the greatest frequency in the Catania, Enna, Syracuse, Messina and Agrigento areas— and lesser cores in Piedmont, Lazio, Liguria, Tuscany, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto.