It is considered that the surname has an anthroponymic origin, derived from the Norman name Wiscard or Guiscardo, with the sense of "very cunning" or "very shrewd".

R. Brondolo notes that the Norman name Guiscardo evolved and spread in different ways, which would explain the variants of the surname documented in northern Italy.

V. Blunda considers it a surname of Germanic origin, derived from the Nordic anthroponym Wiskr, whose etymology is debated, though possibly linked to a root with the sense of "wise" or "cunning". Blunda adds that this name belongs to the same lexical family that gave rise to the surname Visconti, typical of the seigneurial dynasty that governed Milan and the Lombard duchy from the 13th century until 1447.