Surname characteristic of Liguria, especially widespread in the Genoa area. Its origin is linked to a dialectal expression formed from the Ligurian verb baciga / basigâ and the word lupo ("wolf"), although its interpretation is not univocal.

According to E. Rossoni, it would be a nickname attributed to someone who was engaged in driving away wolves —probably by striking them with a stick— or to people dedicated to the treatment and trade of the skins of these animals.

Other interpretations start from the meaning of the dialectal verb basigâ, understood as "to swing", "to handle" or "to transport", which would reinforce the idea of a trade linked to the carrying of wolf skins, possibly hung from a pole. In this context, an ironic nuance in the nickname has also been suggested, related to the courage or bravery of the individual.

P. Regati proposes another reading: it would derive from the verb bacigare ("to bother, to pester"), giving rise to a nickname applied to insistent or annoying people, in an exaggerated expression that could be interpreted as "capable of bothering even a wolf". Nevertheless, this hypothesis coexists with the occupational interpretations.

For his part, E. Caffarelli offers a broader perspective, noting that surnames such as Bacigalupo, together with other similar ones, might not refer directly to human actions, but to popular names of plants or natural elements. In this sense, expressions such as "to strike" or "to prick the wolf" would allude metaphorically to thorny shrubs or brambles in which animals became trapped, or to figurative images that later turned into personal nicknames, often with an ironic sense.