According to the study of surnames of Alessandria (see references), the surname derives from the Piedmontese cavija, taken from the Provençal cavilha and this from the Late Latin cavicla, with varied meanings: ankle, peg, stake or nut (a musical term). It is documented in the deed of pacification of Masio with Alessandria and Asti of 1190, where the mention Marchisii Cavigie appears. It is considered typical of the Acqui Terme and Morbello area.

E. Rossoni links it to a nickname derived from the nautical term caviglia —a small wooden cylinder used to tension ropes on boats—, possibly in reference to the physical build of the first bearer or to his quarrelsome character. He places it mainly in Liguria, in the Savona, Genoa and Alessandria areas.

V. Blunda notes an independent Sicilian variant, formed from the dialectal word cavìgghia, with the sense of "peg" or "small stake". As a surname it could have originated in the trade of the one who made these fastening elements —used in naval construction, carpentry and agricultural tools— or as a nickname applied to a thin and rigid person. Blunda warns that Sicilian distinguishes this meaning from the Italian caviglia, which designates the ankle.

Taken together, the surname presents multiple independent clusters of origin, arisen in different regions without direct relation to each other.