The authors agree that this surname is of Greek-Byzantine origin and derives from a term meaning "bear cub" or "little bear", a diminutive of árktos, "bear". G. Rohlfs links it specifically to the Greek ἀρκουδάκι, relating it to the current Greek surname Arkudakis and to the place name Arcudaci, of the Palmi area, in Calabria. Rohlfs documents its presence in Reggio Calabria and its province, as well as in Caulonia, and considers it a sibling form of Arcorace, belonging to the same family as Arcudi.

V. Blunda records the Sicilian form and specifies that the etymon is arcudàcis, a diminutive with a Greek suffix of affection. According to Blunda, the term originally functioned as an affectionate nickname applied to the ancestor, whether for his character or for his corpulence in childhood. Blunda also notes that the variants Archirafi and Arcuraci represent graphic adaptations of the same etymon.