The authors agree that this surname derives from an occupational nickname linked to the trade of stonecutter or quarryman. V. Blunda specifies that it is a surname of Sicilian and dialectal origin, from the word spàcca pètra, meaning "stone-splitter, stonecutter", an expression describing the worker who extracted blocks from the quarries with wedge and mallet, and which over time became a surname.

E. Rossoni notes that the surname is rare and locates its occurrences in an area near Florence and another in Trani, in the Bari area, which suggests that the surname has independent origins in different regions of Italy.