F. De Laurentiis and E. Rossoni differ on the origin of the surname.

De Laurentiis explains it as composed of the name Rigo and the adjective bello, from which "the handsome Rigo."

Rossoni distinguishes the forms: Rigobelli is practically non-existent and proper to the Ferrara area; Rigobello is clearly Venetan and seems native of the Rovigo area (Rovigo, Lendinara, Costa di Rovigo, Badia Polesine).

Rossoni proposes as an origin a derivation from the name of a locality of Ferrara called Rigobello or torre dei ribelli ("tower of the rebels"), mentioned in medieval documents, or else from the fact that the founding ancestors of the line were rebels against the Este, banished from Ferrara.