The authors agree that this surname derives from the late-Latin name Stabilis, in turn from the adjective stabilis (from stare: "to stand firm"), meaning "firm, constant, persevering in the faith". It is a masculine personal name of the late period linked to Christian settings that over time became a surname.

E. De Felice notes that the surname is of medium frequency and predominates in southern Italy. E. Rossoni specifies that its distribution covers western Sicily, Campania, the upper zone of Calabria and the Salento area —that is, the southernmost zone of the Apulia region, in southern Italy. S. Vannozzi agrees on those same zones and adds that in Cercemaggiore, a locality of Molise, the surname appears in the original form Di Stabile.

R. Brondolo proposes a different etymology, linked to northern Italy: according to this author, the surname would come from conestabile, an officer in charge of the stabulae ("stables") and, by extension, a title of "dignitary". This interpretation, of a functional and medieval character, departs from the anthroponymic line held by the other authors.