Derived from  vescovo meaning "bishop".

E. Rossoni notes that these surname forms derive directly, or through dialectal modifications, from nicknames related to links of various kinds with a bishop, or else with physical or behavioural characteristics associated with him. The surname presents multiple independent stems of origin (ceppi), arisen in different regions without a direct relation between them. The form Vescovi appears in a scattered way throughout the centre-north of Italy; Vescovo shows specific zones in Veneto, the Alessandria area and the Ancona area; Viscovi is almost unique and probably of Venetan or Friulian origin; Viscopo is practically unique; and Viscovo is located in the Naples area.

R. Brondolo proposes a more concrete interpretation for northern Italy: the surname would have been applied to those who lived on episcopal properties or served as administrators of those properties, which would link the origin of the term to a function or social condition tied to the ecclesiastical institution.