Nickname for a poor or miserly person, from  scarso "scarse, scant". Poor/miserly.

The authors agree that the surname derives from a medieval nickname related to the adjective scarso, in the sense of "poor, destitute" or "miserly, stingy." E. De Felice notes that the Latin form Scarsus was already habitual in Genoa from the 12th century, and that the surname is sporadic and rare in Italy, while the variant Scarselli is frequent in Tuscany.

E. Rossoni specifies that Scarsi, Scarzi and Scarzo are typical of the area comprised between the Genoa and Alessandria areas, the last two variants being very rare. Scarsi further presents a specific zone in the province of Padua. For its part, the form Scarso shows three nuclei of presence: in the Ragusa area, in that of Padua and in the one comprised between Genoa and Alessandria. Rossoni agrees with De Felice in deriving all these forms from the medieval nickname scarsus, with the meaning of "destitute."