The authors differ both on the geographical origin and on the etymology of this surname.

E. Rossoni notes that the surname shows areas of presence in the Bologna and Ravenna areas, and another in the Macerata area. He proposes two hypotheses of origin: one links it to the place name Cerrè Marabino, a locality in the Reggio Emilia area, which would classify it as a surname of toponymic base; the other considers it of Venetan provenance and of a nickname character, derived from the Venetan dialect term marubio, with the meaning "irascible", in diminutive form.

V. Blunda, by contrast, describes it as a Sicilian surname of dialect origin, derived from the word maràbba, which designates someone of short judgement and limited wit, the equivalent of "consummate fool" or "simpleton". According to this author, the surname would have originated as a nickname applied to a person of mental slowness or of clumsy reactions in everyday dealings.

The two proposals are independent of each other and point to different regions and linguistic traditions: northern and central Italy in Rossoni's case, and Sicily in Blunda's, which suggests that the surname has independent origins in different regions of Italy.