V. Blunda notes that this surname is of Germanic origin, derived from the personal name Euerlin, a diminutive form linked to the root ebur or eber, which designates the wild boar, an animal of great prestige in ancient Germanic culture, associated with strength and combative valour. Blunda also highlights that the form Eberle preserves the German diminutive suffix -le, characteristic of Alemannic, which would suggest a relatively late arrival of the surname to northern Italy.

F. De Laurentiis proposes, on the other hand, a different etymology: the base would be in nicknames derived from the verb ebere, with the sense of "to decline" or "to lose sharpness", referring to people who would have suffered a loss, a bereavement, or a diminution of their vitality or liveliness by illness or by character. Both interpretations prove difficult to reconcile, since they start from different roots and linguistic traditions.