E. De Felice notes that this surname presents various etymological possibilities, frequently confused with one another. One of them links it with the medieval name of Germanic origin Tacco or Taccone, derived from *Takko, a hypocoristic of Germanic names formed with the element *thaka- (in German Dach): "roof, covering" and "shelter, protection", documented from the 8th century in zones of Lombard and later Frankish tradition. Another possibility presents it as an aphaeretic hypocoristic of names such as Albertacco, Lambertacco or Robertacco. For its part, Taccone could derive from a nickname related to the northern dialectal term tacon: "patch, mending of footwear or clothing".

R. Brondolo proposes, on the other hand, a direct provenance from the Germanic personal name Thacholf. Brondolo further adds a note on Tacchino —a related form diffused in Genoa and bordering zones—, for which he suggests a possible connection with an Arabic name that would mean "respectful of religion", a hypothesis independent of the previous ones.