E. De Felice explains that this surname comes from a nickname formed from the dialectal word sorce, meaning "mouse", with varied semantic motivation (quickness, appearance of the face, among others). He also records the regional variants: sorece, typical of the Campania region, and the Sicilian forms surci (western) and surgi (eastern).

V. Blunda, from a Sicilian perspective, agrees on the dialectal origin and the meaning of "mouse" —which in Sicily is pronounced sùrce— and adds an interpretation of its function as a nickname: it would have been applied to people of small build and furtive movements, or known for their cunning in getting by, in the context of rural life where this rodent was a common pest in granaries and pantries.