The authors agree that this surname derives from the Latin cognomen Sabellus, Sabella, linked to the Sabelli, a tribe belonging to the Samnites, an Italic people of the centre-south of the Italian peninsula, considered the probable origin of the first bearers of the surname.

E. Rossoni notes that Sabella has its main zone of origin in the Agrigento area, although presences could also exist in Molise and in the Salento area —that is, the southernmost zone of the region of Apulia, in southern Italy. The variant Sabelli presents two differentiated zones: one in Rome and nearby localities such as San Cesareo, Palestrina and Rocca Priora, and another that covers Molise and the Chieti area, with a notable presence in Agnone, in the Isernia area, and in Campobasso. The variant Sabello is practically non-existent.

F. Miranda broadens the distribution of Sabella towards Sicily —with a presence in the Agrigento, Palermo, Enna and Catania areas, among others—, besides Campania, Apulia, Calabria and Basilicata. Miranda further adds that in Castellammare del Golfo many members of Sabella families were recorded as Isabella, and links this phenomenon with a possible Spanish origin of the surname, noting that the ancient Sabella —or Isabella— family figures among the noble families of Aragon, Valencia and Catalonia.