Derived from the given name Ruggiero, introduced in Southern Italy after the Norman domination. It comes from the first name Hrodger, consisting of "hroth" = glory and "gaira-" = lance.

The authors agree that the surname derives from the name of Germanic origin Hrodgaer, composed of hroth ("glory, fame") and gaira ("spear"), documented in northern Italy from the end of the 9th century under the form Rotecherius, and Latinized later as Rogerius or Rugerius.

E. De Felice notes that the name was consolidated after the year 1000 in southern Italy thanks to the prestige of the Norman sovereigns who bore it —the duke of Apulia, the count and later king of Sicily—, and that it experienced a new diffusion during the Renaissance through the popularity of the hero of the Orlando furioso of L. Ariosto. De Felice also records regional variants: Ruggier in Veneto, Rogg(i)ero in the north-west of Italy, Rugiero in the Naples area and Rogliero in the region of Apulia.

F. Miranda specifies that the surname is present in all the regions of Italy, with more marked concentrations in Lombardy, Lazio, Sicily, Emilia-Romagna, Marche, Apulia, Tuscany and Sardinia, and with a smaller presence in Piedmont, Abruzzo, Veneto and Liguria. In Sicily it appears in all the provinces, with a greater density in the Messina, Catania, Enna, Palermo and Trapani areas.