E. Rossoni proposes that this surname would derive from patronymic forms with the prefix D'-, referring to the name of Turkish origin Alem, probably borne by the father of the founder of the lineage. Geographically, he places it as very rare, with presence in the Matera area and a zone also in the province of Brindisi, specifically in Francavilla Fontana and Brindisi. The variant Dalemmo, likewise very rare, would be peculiar to Manduria, in the Taranto area.

A different and more developed etymological perspective considers that the base name is of undoubted Arabic origin, belonging to the family of words that derive from the triliteral root of the verb alima / yaalamu, which means "to know, to have knowledge". The present participle of that root is alim ("the one who knows"), with the Italianized plural ulema. From the feminine form alimah ("the one who knows") comes, through a metathesis, the Italian word almea, which designates a "dancer and learned Eastern courtesan". Both sources agree, then, on a Semitic or Near-Eastern background of the surname, although they differ on whether the route of transmission was Turkish or directly Arabic.