The authors agree that this is a surname typical of Sicily, derived from the Sicilian dialectal term taibbu, which designates a wine of optimum quality, and that this word goes back to the Arabic ṭayyib, meaning "good" or "tasty".

E. De Felice notes that the Arabic term functioned originally as a name and nickname, under the form Taibbo, and that it also survives in the Turkish name Tayyib. The meaning covers both the idea of excellence and that of good health. V. Blunda, for his part, places the word in the wine vocabulary introduced during the Islamic domination in Sicily, and proposes that the surname could have originated in a nickname applied to the winemaker or the expert taster.