The authors agree in placing the origin of the surname in Sicily, with a presence concentrated in the Messina area —Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, Falcone, Terme Vigliatore, Milazzo— and specific nuclei in the Palermo and Catania areas.

E. Rossoni proposes a derivation from a nickname of Greek origin, based on the term kalion, meaning "potassium", which would suggest that the founder of the lineage devoted himself to the extraction of potash from rock-salt mines.

V. Blunda, on the other hand, links the surname to the Greek Callìres, whose root kal- means "beautiful, handsome". According to Blunda, it would be a Greek personal name preserved through the Byzantine transmission in southern Italy, which over time became a surname when its spelling was Italianized by family line.