E. Rossoni proposes three hypotheses for this surname. The first links it to a dialectal nickname derived from the Greek word kali, meaning "beautiful". The second relates it to an alteration of the place name Carignano, in the Foggia area, a possible place of provenance of the founders of the lineage. The third suggests a derivation from the homonymous place name located in the Pavia area. Rossoni notes a presence of the surname in Campania, specifically in the Naples area, and in Apulia, in Nardò, in the Lecce area, and in San Donaci, in the Brindisi area.

F. De Laurentiis proposes, on the other hand, that the base of the surname is an old place name called Calignano, today disappeared or modified, without specifying its geographical location.