The authors agree that this surname has its origin in the Sicilian dialect nasca, a word which designates a person characterized by distinctive nasal features, and which came to function as a nickname before becoming a surname. E. De Felice notes that nasca alluded to a snub, flattened or turned-up nose, and that in a figurative sense it also designated a pedantic or fussy person. V. Blunda, by contrast, interprets the term as referring to a large, prominent nose, stressing the visibility of the physical feature as the motivation of the nickname.

F. Miranda adds that the Sicilian dialect word goes back to the Late Latin term nasica, and points to a second etymological possibility: in some cases the surname could derive from the place name Nasca, a hamlet of the comune of Castelveccana, in the province of Varese. Miranda further documents an extensive presence in Sicily, with specific scattered areas in the Palermo, Catania, Caltanissetta, Enna, Messina and Syracuse areas, as well as lesser cores in Puglia, Lombardy, Piedmont, Basilicata, Tuscany, Campania, Lazio and Emilia-Romagna.