E. Rossoni proposes that the surname derives from the medieval Germanic name Garibehrt, composed of gari ("spear") and behrt ("illustrious, luminous"), with the meaning of "illustrious spear" or "resplendent spear". He also does not rule out an alternative derivation from the Germanic name Warinberht, formed by wara ("protection") and berht ("illustrious, luminous"), with the sense of "illustrious defender".

V. Blunda agrees on the Germanic root, although he centres his analysis on the compound Warin Berht, formed by warin ("defender, protector") and berht ("bright, famous"), meaning "illustrious for the protection" or "famous defender". Blunda adds a relevant cultural fact: in ancient Germanic anthroponymy, the figure of the protector had a precise juridical connotation, since the Lombard mundoaldo was the man who exercised legal guardianship over women and minors of the family group, and his capacity to guarantee that protection defined the prestige of the lineage.

As for the geographical distribution, Rossoni notes that the surname is peculiar to Emilia, especially of the Reggio Emilia and Parma areas, with specific presence in Bibbiano, Sant'Ilario d'Enza and Luzzara. Blunda, for his part, indicates that it is preserved especially in Lombardy and Emilia, and presents it as a surname of Germanic root with presence in Sicily.