The authors agree that the surname derives from an adaptation of the Spanish surname García. E. De Felice describes it as a phonetic and graphic adaptation of that Spanish form, documented sporadically in southern Italy.

E. Rossoni broadens this perspective by noting that the Sardinian term gardzìa and the Salentine variant garzìa designate the mimosa (Acacia farnesiana), and that both the Spanish García and these Sardinian forms present a non-etymological r, which could suggest a common derivation from the Greek ακακία. Rossoni also notes that the surname appears in historical documents of Sardinia among the signatories of the Peace of Eleonora of 1388.

The surname presents specific zones of presence in the Salentine area —the southernmost zone of the region of Puglia—, in the province of Naples, in the province of Caltanissetta and in the province of Cagliari.