The authors differ as to the origin of the surname. E. Rossoni holds that it would derive from the medieval name Ravizza, documented in 1328, when the Ghibellines of Franchino Rusca besieged Sondrio led by his brother Ravizza Rusca. Rossoni notes that the surname is not very frequent and that it is concentrated in Lombardy, with a zone of presence in the Milan area and possible secondary nuclei in Piedmont and Liguria.

R. Brondolo, on the other hand, proposes a different origin: he derives it from rapa bietola —the Italian term for beet or turnip—, which would indicate an original link with the cultivation of that tuber. Brondolo places the surname in northern Italy, without further geographic precision.