E. Rossoni proposes that these surnames would derive from a dialect demonym form referring to the Greek island of Chios, situated in the Aegean Sea opposite the city of Smyrna. After being invaded by the Turks, the island was reconquered by the Genoese in 1261 and then occupied again in 1402, which caused the massive flight of the Christians towards the Italian coasts. Nonetheless, Rossoni does not rule out that in some cases the origin may be a nickname based on the archaic southern dialect term sciota, with the meaning of "free, untied" or, alternatively, of "silly person."

V. Blunda proposes, on the other hand, a strictly Sicilian dialect origin, from the word sciòta, with the sense of "free, loose." He notes that the term described both the person free of obligations and the grazing animal without a halter in rural speech, and that as a surname it would have arisen from a nickname applied to someone of an independent character. As to the geographic distribution, Rossoni indicates that the variants Sciotti present lines in the Chieti area, Lazio and the Foggia area; Sciotta is characteristic of the Foggia area; and Sciotto has a presence in the Reggio Calabria area and in the Messina area.