The surname Chicchi and its variants (Chicchini, Chicchino, Chiccone, Chicconi and Chicco) present a diverse origin and a fragmented geographical distribution in Italy. They are documented mainly in the centre and north of the country: Chicchi is concentrated in Tuscany (Lucca, Massa and Florence), Chicchini in Umbria (Perugia), while Chicconi appears in areas of Mantua and also in Sassari (Sardinia). Other forms, such as Chicchino and Chiccone, are very rare or practically unique.

From the etymological point of view, a part of these forms would derive from a hypocoristic of the name Francesco, through variants such as Checco or Chicco. In the case of the Sardinian branches, especially in Sassari, some forms could be linked also to local nicknames derived from the dialectal term chicconi, meaning "embers" or "burning coals".

For its part, the surname Chicco presents also a possible different root: according to E. Rossoni, in some areas of the north and northeast of Italy (such as Piedmont, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Puglia) it could be the Italianization of the Slovene surname Cich, derived from the Slavic term cík, a diminutive of cikec ("ox"), probably used as a nickname.

This surname is documented early in the Adriatic region: in Isola d'Istria (present-day Slovenia), the Chicco family already appears in 1360 as one of the twenty noble families that made up the local Maggior Consiglio.