E. Rossoni considers that this surname refers to the mother's name and derives from the given name of the same form, itself the product of the Italianization of the Hebrew name Elisheba. The surname has multiple independent clusters of origin (ceppi), arisen in different regions without direct relation between them: one in the Varese area and in Lurago d'Erba, in the Como area; another in Rome, Anzio, San Vito Romano and Cisterna di Latina; a further one in Alife, in the Caserta area; with a presence also in the Avellino area and in Castellabate and Ascea, in the Salerno area. The most important cluster is found in the Catanzaro area, especially in Lamezia Terme, but also in Conflenti, Martirano Lombardo, Maida and Nocera Terinese.

A. Bongioanni, by contrast, holds that the etymology of the base name is uncertain and proposes ruling out both the Hebrew Jezabele and Elisabetta as possible direct sources. He notes that in the chansons de geste it appears in the forms Ysabel, Ysabiau and Ysabiel, and mentions a Blessed Isabella, sister of Saint Louis, king of France, whose feast day is celebrated on 31 August. He adds that the Venetan surname Zabéo could be a form derived from the same name.