The authors agree that the surname Calvi derives mainly from calvo ("bald"), a form that may go back to the Latin cognomen Calvus (from calvus, "bald"), originally a nickname referring to baldness. Both also note that the surname may have a toponymic origin, that is, refer to a provenance from places whose name shares that root.

E. De Felice identifies among the reference place names Calvo, in the Imperia area; Calvi, in the Benevento area; Calvi dell'Umbria, in the Terni area; and Calvi Risorta and Calvi Vecchia, in the Caserta area. He also notes that the altered forms Calvelli and Calveri, typical of the peninsular south, refer to Calvello and Calvera, in the Potenza area. As for the distribution, he indicates that Calvi is very frequent in Liguria and in Lombardy, while the altered forms predominate in the centre-south and the derivatives are typical of the south.

E. Rossoni adds among the reference place names one located in the Pavia area, not mentioned by De Felice. He also incorporates variants such as Calvetta, documented in Rome; Calvetti, present in Piedmont, Lombardy, the Verona area and Trentino-Alto Adige, with a specific presence in the Florence and Pisa areas; and Calvetto, located in Piscina and Cumiana, in the Turin area.