E. Rossoni notes that it is a typically Sicilian surname, diffused mainly in the Ragusa, Syracuse, Agrigento and Palermo areas. According to Rossoni, it would derive from a nickname linked to the Greek term skēphós ("cup, goblet, vessel"), probably associated with the trade of potter of the family line.

V. Blunda agrees on the Sicilian and Greek origin, but specifies that the dialect form is scìfu, with the meaning of "stone trough for pigs," with a semantic evolution towards the livestock use. The base Greek form would be skýphos ("goblet, vessel"). From this perspective, the surname could have originated in an occupational nickname applied to the swineherd.

Both authors agree, then, that the ultimate root is Greek and points back to a vessel or container, but they differ in the interpretation of the original nickname: Rossoni links it to the potter's work, while Blunda associates it with the livestock world through the Sicilian dialect.