E. Rossoni records this surname in areas of Sicily, with presence in the Agrigento, Palermo, Catania and Caltanissetta areas.

V. Blunda proposes that the surname comes from the Greek kalòs Pètses, which would mean "the good Pezze". The compound joins the prefix kalo-, with the sense of "good" or "beautiful", with the personal name Pezze. According to this interpretation, the term functioned originally as a nickname applied to an ancestor for his good character, and over time became a surname through family transmission.