The authors agree that this surname is mainly Tuscan and that it is related to the medieval name Càmbio or Cambius. E. De Felice describes it as an aphaeretic hypocoristic of Boncàmbio, an auspicious name —"good change"— given to a child born after the death of a previous child, of the same type as Ristòro. He documents its use in Florence from the 12th century.

E. Rossoni broadens this reading and notes that Cambius could go back to a Latin nomen of Celtic origin. He provides a concrete testimony of its transformation into a surname in Florence in 1263, when Ricco Cambi appears as one of the main bankers of the city, and indicates that in the Bergamo area the process is recorded only in the 16th century. Rossoni also gathers the interpretation of Boncambio as an auspicious name, in agreement with De Felice.

As for the geographical distribution, Rossoni places the surname fundamentally in Tuscany, with presence in specific areas of Emilia-Romagna and Lazio.