The authors agree that this surname derives from an ethnic form of the place name Naxos (also referred to as Nasso), the name of the Greek island in the Aegean Sea, and attribute to it a Greek origin with an auspicious character related to longevity.

F. Miranda specifies that the place name may also point back to the Greek colony of Naxos founded in Sicily in 734 BC, today an archaeological site in the territory of Giardini-Naxos, in the province of Messina. Both authors link the name to the Greek expression na ziseis —"may you live long"—, still present in Greek birthday songs. According to the shared hypothesis, the surname would have migrated towards Puglia during the period of Turkish domination of Greece.

E. Rossoni notes that the surname is proper to the Salento area —that is, the southernmost zone of the region of Puglia, in southern Italy—, where griko, a variety of Greek, is still spoken, with a presence especially at Matino and Melissano, and a small presence in the Catania area. Miranda broadens the distribution and indicates that the surname also appears in Sicily —with a presence in the provinces of Messina, Catania and Enna— and in other regions of Italy.