E. De Stefani explains that this surname arose as a shortened form of the old Jacobuzzi, a hypocoristic of Jacobus, with the Friulian diminutive suffix -uzzi. The name Jacobus comes from the Hebrew Giacobbe and, in the New Testament, designates two apostles. Over time it became a surname. The ending -uzzi appears in numerous surnames of Friulian origin.

R. Brondolo agrees on the origin, although he formulates it more synthetically: it derives from Jacobuzzo, a diminutive of Jacopo, with the sense of "little Jacopo".

As for the geographical distribution, De Stefani notes that the surname is frequent in the Udine area, in particular in the localities of Pontebba and Tarvisio, as well as in Sutrio, in the Carnia —a mountainous district of northern Friuli, in the province of Udine—. Families with this surname are also documented in Lombardy, in the canton of Ticino, in Piedmont and in Emilia. Brondolo, for his part, places it more generally in northern Italy.