P. Regati identifies it as a surname typical of the Tigullio (Chiavari, Lavagna).

V. Blunda, for the Sicilian variant, derives it from the Germanic personal name Raffo, a Lombard anthroponym linked to an onomastic base of disputed etymology, possibly connected to a hypocoristic form of anthroponyms compounded on roots such as hraban ("raven") in a reduced variant, or on rad ("counsel").

Blunda notes that the consonant doubling -ff- is characteristic of Italian anthroponymy, where it marks affectionate or intensive forms of the original name. He adds that the variant Raffa presents the simple final vowel alternation proper to some southern adaptations of the anthroponym, without alteration of the onomastic value.