The authors agree that the surname derives from the medieval term camerlengo, which designated the official in charge of administering the finances and the patrimony of the lord or sovereign. E. Rossoni notes that it is an Italianisation of the medieval Germanic term chamarlinc, and indicates that the founders of the lineage performed that function. V. Blunda specifies that the original Germanic word is Kamer Link, composed of kamer (chamber, room) and link (bond, servile office), and adds that in the ecclesiastical sphere the cardinal camerlengo is the highest administrative authority of the Holy See during the period of Sede Vacante, a function that is preserved to this day in the pontifical ceremonial.

As for the geographical distribution, Rossoni documents various variants of the surname in several regions of Italy: Camarlinghi in Tuscany, in the Florence, Pisa and Livorno areas; Camerlenghi in Lombardy, in the Mantua area, and also in Genoa; and the form Camerlengo in the Veneto, in the Marche, in Lazio, in Campania and in Puglia. He adds the form Camerlingo in the Naples area. Blunda, for his part, places the surname in Sicily.