The authors agree that the surname refers to a semantic field related to writing. E. Rossoni notes that the origin may be linked to the trade of scribe, since the Latin term calamarius designated the case for writing utensils, or to the trade of fisherman. V. Blunda specifies that it comes from the Greek calamàri, "inkwell", derived in turn from kálamos, "reed", and explains that in Sicily it functioned as a nickname applied to an ancestor linked to writing trades or to some trait of his bearing, before becoming a family surname.

As for the geographical distribution, Rossoni documents the form Calamari in the Piacenza area, in the Lucca area and between Rome and the Frosinone area, while the form Calamaro appears in the Genoa area, in the Campania region and in the Syracuse area. Blunda places the surname specifically in Sicily.