E. Rossoni notes that this surname, infrequent, is typical of eastern Sicily and of the Reggio Calabria area, and derives it from the Arabic name Saqqah, a term that identified the water carrier.

G. Rohlfs, on the other hand, proposes a Greek-Byzantine origin. He links the surname with the Greek surname Sakkàs, documented already in ancient papyri, and notes its presence in Catanzaro, Cosenza and Reggio Calabria, with a particular concentration in the province of the latter city —especially in Palmi, Taurianova, Siderno and the Bova area. Rohlfs also recognizes its extension to Sicily.

Both authors agree, then, on the main geographic distribution of the surname: southern Calabria and Sicily. They differ, however, on the etymology: while Rossoni points to an Arabic root, Rohlfs inscribes it in the Greek and Byzantine tradition proper to that southern zone of Italy.