The authors agree that the surname derives from the medieval name Binus, an abbreviated form obtained by reduction of names such as Albinus, Cerbinus, Bernardinus or Iacobinus. E. De Felice notes that this form is documented as early as the 12th and 13th centuries in variants such as Binus, Binellus and Binaccius, and that the patronymic Del Bino is specific to Tuscany.

De Felice adds that the surname is spread in northern Italy and especially in Tuscany. F. Miranda broadens this distribution by noting that the surname is present in central-northern Italy, with particular density in the regions of Tuscany, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, the Marche, Lazio, Liguria, Piedmont, Umbria and Puglia, in addition to a cluster in the Bari area. Miranda also records presence in Sicily, in provinces such as Ragusa, Agrigento, Caltanissetta, Palermo, Syracuse and Enna.

De Felice adds information on related variants: the diminutive Binelli or Binello, more frequent in Liguria and Piedmont, could derive from the dialectal term binèlu or binèl, meaning "twin brother", or from the place name Binèllo, in the Genoa area. The variant Binétti, peculiar to the Bari area, is linked with the place name Binétto, in that same province.