The authors agree that this surname derives from place names containing the root Savoia, linked to the historical alpine region known in French as Savoie (Savoy), today part of France. In some cases, the surname could indicate that the founder of the line was native of that region.

E. De Felice notes that the surname may also come from the demonym savoiardo, that is, "citizen, inhabitant or native of Savoy." He adds that in southern Italy, Savoia may reflect the place name Savoia di Lucania, in the Potenza area, a locality that until 1879 was called Salvia.

E. Rossoni broadens the toponymic picture: among the possible reference places he mentions Verrua Savoia, in the Turin area; Iolanda di Savoia, in the Ferrara area; Margherita di Savoia, in the Foggia area; Savoia di Lucania, in the Potenza area; and Valsavoia, in the Syracuse area. Rossoni also records the variants Savoie, very rare and proper to the Val d'Aosta, and Savoja, equally very rare, with a specific presence in the Messina and Caltanissetta areas, and which would seem to be of Sicilian origin.