The authors agree that this surname has a southern dialectal origin, derived from the word sparacio —in Sicilian sparaciu—, which designates asparagus, with a greater presence in western Sicily.

E. De Felice notes that the surname formed from nicknames of varied motivation, and that the word sparacio in Sicily denotes not only asparagus but also other vegetables, such as a choice variety of cauliflower.

V. Blunda specifies that it refers specifically to wild asparagus, a plant that grew spontaneously on the field boundaries and thistle-patches of the Sicilian countryside. According to Blunda, the nickname from which the surname derived could have been applied to a person of tall and thin figure, or to someone involved in the seasonal gathering of the plant.