F. De Laurentiis proposes that the surname derives from nicknames or trade names formed from zuffolo, a term that alludes to one who plays a rustic wind instrument or to one who whistles. In a figurative sense, it could also be applied to persons considered simple, absent-minded or even to spies. Likewise, an alternative derivation from zuffa ("brawl, fight") is not ruled out, in which case the surname would have been attributed to persons of a conflictive or quarrelsome character.