The authors agree that the surname is typically Piedmontese and that it derives from a dialectal alteration of the Italianisation of the Latin name Abundius (or Abundus), that is, Abbondio. Its geographical distribution is concentrated in northern Piedmont, in the areas of Vercelli —with documented presence in Serravalle Sesia, Lozzolo and Varallo—, Novara and Biella, specifically in Villa del Bosco, as well as in the Valsesia.

P. Lastrico develops the background of the name of origin: Abbondio is a Christian name of auspicious value, derived from the Latin abundans ("abundant, prosperous"), linked to the cult of Saint Abundius, bishop of Como in the 5th century and patron of that city. Under this interpretation, the surname would originally mean "descendant of Abbondio or of the family of the Abbondio". Lastrico also notes the existence of the variants Avondet and Avondeto, forms of the same surname with the Alpine suffix -et / -eto, characteristic of northern Piedmont and of the areas of contact with Franco-Provençal.

E. Rossoni also refers to the entry ABBONDI for related surnames.