E. De Felice notes that this surname derives from the Italian name Saverio, which was consolidated in Italy during the late Renaissance thanks to the prestige of Saint Francis Xavier, co-founder together with Saint Ignatius of Loyola of the Society of Jesus. The full name of the Spanish saint was Francisco de Jassu Xavier; the last element comes from the place name Xavier (today Javier), the castle near Pamplona where he was born, which in turn adapts the Basque term Etchaherri, with the meaning of "new house."

E. Rossoni, on the other hand, proposes that Saverio is a variant of the Latin name Severus or Severius, from which all the variants of the surname would derive directly or through derived forms. According to Rossoni, Saveri is proper to the zone comprising Perugia, Terni, Viterbo and Rome. The variant Saverini, almost unique, would seem to be Tuscan. Saverino presents a line in the Reggio Calabria area and in Catanzaro, and another in the Palermo area and in Alcamo, in the Trapani area. Saverio, very rare, has a presence in the Taranto area and in that of Lecco.