E. De Felice notes that this surname derives from the trade term zangari, typical of the medieval Greek spoken in Calabria (called griko), in turn coming from the Modern Greek tsankáres, meaning "shoemaker" or "cobbler". He places it in centre-southern Calabria.

G. Rohlfs agrees on the Greek-Byzantine origin of the surname and on the meaning of "shoemaker", linking it directly to the Greek τσαγκάρης. He broadens the geographical scope in greater detail: he documents it in Catanzaro, Cosenza and Reggio Calabria, as well as in localities of their respective provinces —San Lucido, Nicastro, Squillace, Siderno, San Giorgio Morgeto and the Màmmola area—, and also notes its presence in Sicily. He adds that in Greece the form Tsangaris survives as a living surname.

The contribution of P. Durante is insufficient to be included: he proposes a Greek etymology linked to "sack" or to an undeveloped root angos, without argumentative support that would allow it to be considered.