The authors agree that the surname derives from the medieval name Calandro / Calandra, associated with a mythical bird cited in Deuteronomy to which was attributed the capacity to absorb the ills causing diseases and restore health to the sick person. F. Miranda adds that assigning that name to a child was equivalent to attributing to him thaumaturgic properties, at least on the symbolic plane.

V. Blunda proposes an alternative etymology of Sicilian dialectal base: the surname would come from the word calànnara, which in the dialect of Sicily designates the lark. In that case it would have originated as a nickname applied to a person of melodious voice or of a cheerful and early-rising character, a frequent motivation in Sicilian surnames based on songbirds. The lark has a prominent role in southern popular lyric as a symbol of dawn and of rural freedom.

E. Rossoni notes that the form Calandra is very widespread in Sicily and in the Naples area. The variant Calandri presents areas of concentration in Piedmont —especially in the Cuneo and Turin areas—, in Liguria —Imperia, Savona and Genoa areas— and also in Umbria, in the Perugia area, and in Rome. Calandria is very rare and is concentrated in the Savona area. Calandro appears in Rome, in the Naples area, especially in the Benevento area, and in the Trapani area.