The scholars consulted agree that Versace is a surname of Greek or Greco-Latin origin rooted in southern Italy, though they differ on the precise etymology.

E. Rossoni presents three hypotheses: that the surname derives from an unspecified Greek personal name; that it represents the Greek adaptation of a patronymic based on the Latin name of Germanic origin Versus; or that it comes from the Greek surname Bersàkis, through the phonetic equivalence by which the Greek letter β is pronounced like the Italian v, producing the shift from Bersàkis to Versace. It is also recorded that the surname may go back to late Latin personal names such as Versatius or Versacius, both used as family names during the Roman Empire, whose gradual evolution could have produced the modern form.

G. Rohlfs situates the surname within the Greek-Byzantine linguistic stratum of southern Italy and compares it with the Greek form Βαρσάκες. He notes that Versace and Versaci are sister forms, and that the surname coincides geographically with districts bearing the name Versace in the municipalities of Motta San Giovanni and San Procopio, in Calabria, pointing to a possible toponymic connection. It is further noted that variants such as Barsachi and Barsachès may represent archaic or dialectal forms phonetically linked to Versace, possibly shaped by Greek-Byzantine influence or by scribal adaptations in religious and legal documents.

As for geographic distribution, Rohlfs documents the surname in Catanzaro, Cosenza, and Reggio Calabria, as well as in localities within their provinces — including Paola, the Squillace area, Bagnara, Bianco, and Palmi — and extends its presence to Campania and Sicily. Rossoni specifies that Versace is concentrated mainly in the area of Reggio Calabria, with localities such as Villa San Giovanni, Bagnara Calabra, Rizziconi, Africo, Bianco, Gioia Tauro, Taurianova, and Polistena, and to a lesser extent in the area of Taranto. The variant Versaci is also found in the area of Reggio Calabria — in Calanna, Benestare, San Luca, and Africo — and in Sicily, in cities such as Messina, San Fratello, Acquedolci, Galati Mamertino, and Palermo.