The authors agree that this surname has a Greek base related to the word stauros / stavròs, meaning "cross" or "vertical post for torment". However, each author develops the analysis from a different angle.

E. De Felice classifies it as a surname formed from a nickname, documented in the 12th and 13th centuries under the forms Stayrakis and Stabrakes, derived from the Greek and Modern Greek stauros, with the derivative and diminutive suffix -ace or -aci (from the Greek and Modern Greek -akes). He places its epicentre in the areas of Greek tradition and Griko language of the Salento and Calabria, that is, in southern Italy.

G. Rohlfs agrees on the Greek-Byzantine origin and refers to the form Stavrakis, derived from the Greek σταυρός ("cross"). He notes a presence in Calabria —in the cities of Catanzaro and Reggio Calabria and in localities of their provinces such as Pizzo, Gioia Tauro and Palmi— and describes it as a surname of high frequency in Naples.

E. Rossoni incorporates an alternative etymology: he considers that surnames such as Starace could derive from nicknames based on the Latin term storax storacis, the name of a shrub of eastern Mediterranean origin, also cultivated in Italy, whose resin was used in perfumery and medicine. The nickname would probably have alluded to the trade of alchemist or perfumer of the family's founder. Nonetheless, Rossoni also gathers the hypothesis that Storace is a variant of Sarace and notes a possible relation with the Greek stavròs ("cross"), documented in Calabria in 1203. Geographically, he places this surname mainly in the Naples area, with a presence also in the Foggia area —in the Gargano zone and along the Gulf of Manfredonia— and in the Lecce area, in the south of Apulia.