The authors agree that this surname derives from an old personal name of Germanic origin. E. De Stefani specifies that the original form is Artuwicus, corresponding to the German Hartwig, composed of the roots hardu ("hard, strong, energetic") and wig ("combat, struggle"), with the sense of "strong or brave combatant". E. Rossoni notes that the medieval Latinisation of the name is Arduicus, documented from the year 869, and confirms the origin in the Germanic name Harto.

E. Costantini adds that the original form Harduwich was also Italianised as Artuico, and that the correct pronunciation is Artìco. He warns that over time a learned approximation to the adjective àrtico ("relating to the North Pole") took place, which altered the popular pronunciation. Its oldest documentation comes from the Necrologium aquileiense, with the records Articus de Castro Porpeti and Articus de Prampergo; in Gemona it is documented from 1438. In 1779 it figured among the families native to Tolmezzo.

As for the geographical distribution, De Stefani and Costantini agree that the surname is concentrated in Friuli —with presence in Gemona, Tolmezzo, Udine, Osoppo and Pordenone— and in northeastern Italy, in the regions of Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino-Alto Adige, with clusters documented in localities such as Vittorio Veneto and San Stino di Livenza.