E. Rossoni notes that this surname presents two independent lines of origin (ceppi): one in the Genoa area and another in the Ferrara area, with a presence in localities such as Ostellato and Migliarino. According to Rossoni, the Ferrarese nucleus would derive from a nickname based on the dialect term of the Rovigo area schincaglie, which designates useless junk or trinkets, while the Genoese nucleus could respond to a different origin, linked to a nickname related to a dialect term for "stammerer."

F. De Laurentiis agrees that the surname comes from nicknames, but broadens the meaning of the term schincaglie: he defines it as "small ornamental objects, trinkets," and adds that nicknames of this type were applied to people who stammered when speaking or who made noise. This double motivation —that of the trinket seller and that of the defective speaker— suggests that the dialect term could have given rise to nicknames of different nature according to the context.