The authors agree that this surname derives from nicknames linked to the Greek term boukólos (βουκόλος), meaning "herdsman, keeper of grazing animals", probably referring to the trade of the founding ancestor of the lineage.

F. Miranda notes that the surname, together with its variants Bucoli, Bucolo and Bucoliero, could derive from that etymon directly or through Norman adaptations to French. He places it mainly in Puglia, with characteristic presence in the Taranto and Brindisi areas, and with minor clusters in Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Lazio, Tuscany, Liguria and Sicily —in the Enna and Agrigento areas—.

E. Rossoni specifies that Buccoliero is very widespread in the Salento area —that is, the southernmost zone of the Puglia region—, while Bucolo is typical of eastern Sicily, in particular of the Catania and Messina areas. Rossoni also mentions Bucoliero as an almost unique form of Sicilian origin.