E. De Felice explains that this surname arises from the transformation into a surname of Cecco, an abbreviated, familiar and affectionate form of Francesco (see Franceschi). It is spread throughout central and northern Italy, with greater concentration in Tuscany, where the standard forms predominate together with their variants and derivatives. In the northeast of Italy, in the regions of Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino-Alto Adige, the apocopated forms and those ending in -ato are peculiar.

F. De Laurentiis agrees on the origin from Cecco as an abbreviated and affectionate form of Francesco, and confirms the geographical distribution centred on Tuscany and the northeast of Italy, without adding information additional to what is noted by De Felice.