According to E. De Felice, this surname may be considered, at least in part, as the northern equivalent of Gioia, which suggests a regional adaptation of the same name or of its lexical base in northern Italy.

For his part, E. Rossoni notes that it could derive from a dialectal variation of the name Gioia or else from a nickname formed from the word gioia in its dialectal form. This use is documented, for example, in a deed of 1643 in Bergamo, and there are traces of the surname in the Valtellina area from the 17th century, which confirms its antiquity in the northern sphere. In this sense, the surname is linked with the auspicious value of the term gioia ("joy"), frequent in medieval onomastics. To better understand the original meaning and the diffusion of this group, it is advisable to consult also the entry dedicated to the surname Gioia, where its origin and evolution are developed in depth.