The authors agree that the surname presents multiple independent lines of origin (ceppi), arisen in different regions without a direct relation between them.

E. Rossoni documents a line in Rome, one of smaller extension in the Nuoro area and another in the Reggio Calabria area. He notes that the surname could derive from place names, such as the frazione Scruglio in Ripacandida or Punta Scrugli in Vibo Valentia. Rossoni further records its transformation into a surname in Tropea from the year 1549.

P. Durante proposes a different etymology and suggests a Greek origin linked to the term xyle, with the sense of "wood," although this hypothesis is put forward with reservations.