A. Bongioanni notes that this surname derives from a given name associated with the flower of the narcissus. He links it with five saints who bore that name, among whom the most venerated in Italy was Saint Narcissus, bishop of Jerusalem in the 3rd century, whose feast is celebrated on 29 October. Bongioanni indicates that the name was not rare in the region of Trentino, and mentions that the surnames Cis and Cisotti present a comparable origin, as does Tarcisio.

P. Durante points out that the surname is of Greek origin and that it comes from a given name, although he does not develop further precisions on the matter.