The authors differ on the etymology of this surname. S. Galantini considers it a compound of Cola, an aphaeretic hypocoristic of the name Nicola —linked to the Greek-Eastern tradition and the cult of Saint Nicholas of Bari—, and the name Angelo. From this perspective, the surname would not have a meaning of its own, but would bring together two personal names of common use in southern Italy.

V. Blunda, on the other hand, derives it from the Greek Caloàngelos, "Angelo the good", interpreting it as a compound of the prefix kalo-, "good", with the personal name Angelo. Blunda frames this surname within a series of compounds with that same prefix —such as Colaianni, Colamasi and Colantoni— recorded especially in Sicily.

Both proposals share the recognition of Angelo as the second element of the compound, but differ in the nature of the first: for Galantini it is a hypocoristic form of Nicola, while for Blunda it is a Greek prefix of positive value. As for the geographical distribution, Galantini notes that the surname is very widespread in the southern peninsula and provides concrete historical documentation for the province of Teramo: in the 17th century it appears in Cerchiara di Isola del Gran Sasso and in Floriano di Campli, and in the 18th century in Morro d'Oro.