The authors agree that Volpe is a surname of zoonymic origin, derived from the name of the animal volpe ("fox"). It arose as a byname applied to persons whose physical or behavioural characteristics evoked the qualities traditionally associated with this animal, especially cunning, slyness, shrewdness and speed.

F. Miranda notes that the term goes back to the Latin vulpes and highlights that it is one of the most widespread surnames in Italy. It is present throughout the peninsula, though with a clear prevalence in the south, especially in Campania, in the Naples and Salerno areas. It also presents important nuclei in Apulia, Lazio, Sicily, Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto and Abruzzo. In Sicily it is found in all the provinces, with a greater concentration in the Agrigento, Palermo, Caltanissetta and Catania areas.

E. Rossoni agrees that all the variants of the group derive from the same semantic field related to the fox. He notes that these surnames come directly or through diminutive, augmentative and hypocoristic forms developed from old nicknames. Among the main variants are Volpi, Volpin, Volpini, Volpone, Volponi, Volpino, Volpon, Vulpetti and Vulpis.

Rossoni indicates that Volpe predominates in southern Italy, while Volpi is more characteristic of the centre and north. Volpin is concentrated in the Padua area; Volpini in Tuscany, Marche, Umbria and Lazio; Volpon in the province of Belluno; and Volpone in Liguria, the province of Pescara and some localities of the province of Frosinone. He also documents Volponi in Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Marche and Lazio, and Vulpetti in the Trapani area.