The authors agree that this surname has roots in the term bosco ("wood, forest") and is linked to the idea of one who lived or worked in the forest, with connotations of a surly or asocial person. F. Miranda frames it within a broad category of medieval names and nicknames related to forest work, noting that from that lexical base derive numerous variants and surnames.

V. Blunda specifies that it is a Sicilian surname of dialectal origin, formed from the word buscarìnu, which in that dialect designates an "asocial person, who has lived for a long time in the woods". According to Blunda, it could have arisen as a nickname applied to those who devoted themselves to solitary trades such as the charcoal-burner or the woodcutter, and reflects the view of the Sicilian rural community on those who withdrew from village life, a conduct perceived as suspicious in a strongly communitarian culture.

Miranda notes that the surname has its main nucleus in Sicily, with a presence in the Syracuse, Ragusa, Palermo, Agrigento, Catania and Enna areas. He also records minor nuclei in Piedmont, Lombardy, Lazio, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto and Tuscany.