The authors agree in linking this surname with the term marra, which designates a heap or mound of stones, although they differ in the scope and the emphasis of that connection. E. De Felice notes that the surname was formed from the toponymic type marra, common as the name of settlements and localities in southern Italy, with a documented presence in the Naples and Salerno areas, as well as in Calabria. E. Rossoni agrees on that toponymic origin and adds that its fixing as a surname goes back at least to the second half of the 13th century, with a document dated 1296, which makes it one of the most anciently attested southern surnames.

S. Vannozzi supplies a local perspective centred on Molise: the surname is said to have been introduced into Cercemaggiore with a probable provenance from Riccia or Ielsi, neighbouring localities where it appears most attested. For his part, V. Blunda proposes an alternative origin for the Sicilian variant: it would derive from the dialect word marrùggiu, which designates an iron bar or crowbar used to move stones and to lay wall foundations. In Sicily, the surname would have arisen as a reference to the trade of the stonecutter or the mason, or else as a nickname alluding to physical robustness.