The authors agree that this surname and its variants derive, directly or through affectionate forms, from nicknames based on the archaic Italian term cavicchio, which designates a peg or small pointed stick. The word admits different connotations: in a positive sense it alludes to its function as a pivot, and in a negative sense it has an offensive value. E. Rossoni notes that Carlo Goldoni used it as the surname of the character Brighella: "Brighella Cavicchio, quondam Bertoldo".

Rossoni documents the geographical distribution of the main variants: Cavicchi is concentrated in the Florence, Bologna and Ferrara areas; Cavicchia appears in the Imperia area, in Mantua, in Rome and in the region of Abruzzo, with presence in the L'Aquila, Pescara and Chieti areas; Cavicchio is recorded in the Rovigo area; Cavicchioli in the Milan, Mantua, Modena, Bologna, Pisa and Siena areas; and Cavicchiolo in the Padua area.

F. De Laurentiis proposes, on the other hand, that the surname is an altered form of Cavecchia, which suggests a route of formation different from that put forward by Rossoni.