E. Rossoni proposes a double origin for this surname: on the one hand, it would derive from nicknames linked to the amiable character of the founder of the lineage; on the other, it could be connected with the dialectal term garbin, which designates the libeccio wind. Rossoni documents its transformation into a surname in Pirano during the 16th century, with the mention of a certain Piero Garbin quondam Zorzi da Piran, and in the area of the river Tagliamento in the second half of the 17th century, with a Giovanni Garbin cited in a deed. He also notes that the surname is characteristic of the Veneto, while the variant Garbino, very rare, is located in the Pozzuolo del Friuli area, in the province of Udine.

F. De Laurentiis agrees in noting the Veneto as the main area of diffusion of the surname and in the connection with the libeccio wind, called garbino in the dialectal tradition. De Laurentiis adds that in some cases the surname could derive from the form Garbi.