E. De Felice notes that this surname may derive both from the place name of the Greek island of Rhodes —and from the corresponding demonym— and, more frequently, from the southern place names Rodi Garganico, in the province of Foggia; Rodi Milici, in the province of Messina; and Rodio, in the province of Salerno.

G. Rohlfs considers it a surname of Greek-Byzantine origin and provides a more detailed geographic distribution: he documents it in the city of Catanzaro, in the Calabro-Lucanian area —specifically in Amendolara—, and in the provinces of Cosenza, Catanzaro and Reggio Calabria, with a presence in localities such as Ardore, Gerace and San Luca. He further notes that the surname is also Neapolitan and Sicilian. Rohlfs relates it to the Greek surnames Rodi and Rodis, which indicate the "native of Rhodes."