The surname Tombolato is infrequent and shows a clear localization in the Padua area, within the Veneto region. According to E. Rossoni, it would be a patronymic form built with the suffix -ato, usual in Venetan onomastics, with the value of "figlio di" or "discendente di" ("son of" or "descendant of").

In this case, the surname would refer to a head of family whose father was known by the byname or surname Tombola, of which Tombolato would indicate the filiation. The use of -ato as a patronymic marker is characteristic of Veneto and is found also in other surnames of the area, reinforcing the hypothesis of a local and family origin, rather than toponymic or occupational.

The base surname Tombola has, in turn, an appellative origin, probably linked to a byname —whether by playful, circumstantial or metaphorical reference— that ended up becoming fixed as a family name. Tombolato would then be a secondary branch, arisen to differentiate the direct descendants within the same community.

Tombolato is a Venetan surname, typical of the Padua area. According to the most accepted interpretation, it is a patronymic form in -ato, meaning "son of", derived from an ancestor known as Tombola. An alternative toponymic origin cannot be ruled out, however, linked to the locality of Tombolo (Padua), a plausible though secondary hypothesis.

Variants and related forms

• Tombola: base form of the group, of appellative origin, present mainly in northern Italy, especially in Veneto.
• Tombolati: a plural or patronymic variant, less frequent, linked to the same root.
• Tomboletti: a form derived with the diminutive suffix -etto, of limited diffusion.
• Tombolini: a variant with the patronymic-plural suffix -ini, documented in different areas of northern Italy.