A. Bongioanni notes that this surname derives from the feminine given name Sibilla, a figure mentioned together with David in the first stanza of the medieval hymn Dies irae, which favoured its incorporation into Christian onomastics. The name was frequent in France and among the Normans of Sicily. Among the linked surname forms, Bongioanni mentions Sibille, very diffused in the Susa Valley (Piedmont), and Sibilla, documented in Frabosa, Mondovì area. He also notes Venetan forms such as Sibellato, Sibiliato and Bellati, in which the influence of the name Isabella could concur.

E. Rossoni indicates that the surname presents zones of presence in the Cuneo area, in the Naples area and in the Crotone area, the most important being the one recorded in the region of Apulia, especially in the Taranto area. Rossoni considers that it could be a surname derived from a maternal feminine name, and links it to the medieval name Sibilla, documented in a deed of 1472.