E. Rossoni notes that this surname is characteristic of the Gargano, especially of Vieste, in the Foggia area. According to Rossoni, both Cariglia and its variant Cariglio would derive from a nickname based on the dialectal term cariglia, which designates the downy oak, a type of oak very abundant in the Foresta Umbra of the Gargano National Park. Rossoni also indicates that the form Carriglio is typical of Sicily.

V. Blunda, on the other hand, proposes a different etymology for the surname in its Sicilian variant: he derives it from the Greek Carìlia, a personal name preserved through the Byzantine transmission in southern Italy. According to Blunda, the Italianised spelling would have turned the l of the Greek original into gli, giving rise to the current form through family transmission.

Both proposals agree in placing a branch of the surname in Sicily, although they differ in its origin: for Rossoni it would be a nickname of dialectal and plant base, while for Blunda the starting point would be a Greek anthroponym of the Byzantine period.