G. Rohlfs places this surname in the Salento area —that is, the southernmost zone of the Puglia region, in southern Italy—, specifically in Maglie, in the province of Lecce. He considers it of Greek-Byzantine origin, derived from the name Anàkletos, meaning "called, irreproachable", and links it to the Byzantine presence in southern Italy and the survival of Greek onomastics in the Grecìa Salentina.

A. Bongioanni also treats it as a given name of Greek origin, with the sense of "invoked". He notes that Saint Anacletus was pope and martyr under the emperor Trajan, whose feast day is celebrated on 13 July. He adds that in common use the abbreviated form Cleto is usually preferred, although this also functions as an independent name, associated with the second or third pope, venerated on 26 April.