The authors agree that the surname Corallo derives from a byname linked to coral —whether by the fishing, the working or the trade of this material— applied to the founder of the lineage. They also agree that it could derive directly from the personal name Corallo, which E. Rossoni documents in a deed of 1614.

V. Blunda specifies the etymological origin and traces it to the Greek korállion, a term with which coral was designated, appreciated in Mediterranean trade since ancient times for its decorative value. According to Blunda, this etymon would have motivated the surname both as a professional nickname applied to the coral-worker and by some trait associated with the precious material in an ancestor.

As for the geographical distribution, F. Miranda offers the most detailed picture: the surname is present in a little over 250 comuni of Italy, with main zones in Sicily and in Puglia, and presences in the rest of the regions, among them Liguria, Lazio, Lombardy, Piedmont, Campania, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany. In Sicily, Miranda notes zones concentrated in the Catania area —with comuni such as Paternò, Belpasso, Catania and Caltagirone—, in the whole province of Ragusa and in the Syracuse area —with Syracuse, Augusta and Pachino—; he also records presence in the Enna area, in comuni such as Gagliano Castelferrato, Leonforte and Catenanuova.

Rossoni agrees in noting Sicily and Puglia as the main regions, specifying within Puglia the Bari, Lecce and Taranto areas, and within Sicily the localities of Paternò, Gela and Palermo. Rossoni places the most important nucleus in the Ragusa area, with presence in Ragusa, Comiso, Vittoria, Modica and Ispica.