The authors differ on the origin of this surname. P. Durante links it to the Greek kallipáreios, meaning "of beautiful cheek", and also notes that Callipari is the name of a river in the Soverato area, in Calabria, which suggests a possible toponymic root as well.

V. Blunda, on the other hand, derives it from the Greek calepós, "difficult, intractable", interpreting it as a nickname referring to the harsh character of the ancestor, which over time became a family surname. Blunda records this surname as typical of Sicily and relates it to the surname Calipó, of a close etymon.