E. Rossoni proposes that this surname would derive from a nickname linked to the trade of the founding ancestor, from the term of Greek origin xyràfes, meaning "barber". He places it geographically in Licata and Campobello di Licata, in the Agrigento area.

F. Miranda agrees on the etymology and on the original localization, and adds that it is a typically Sicilian surname, with a presence also in other localities of the island: in the Agrigento area (Licata, Campobello di Licata, Canicattì), in the Palermo area and in the Enna area (Catenanuova). Miranda also records scattered presences in Tuscany, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont and Liguria, although he considers them infrequent.