The authors agree that this surname is of Sicilian origin and derives from the Greek word kalamátsia, whose root is kálamos or kaláme, meaning "reed" or "reed bed". F. Miranda adds that, according to G. Vezzelli, the ending would have been influenced by the term mazza, and also notes that Caracausi likewise maintains this thesis. Miranda points to other possible derivations: place names that contain the term mazza, or the medieval name Matzo or Mazzo.

V. Blunda specifies that the etymon corresponds to a Greek personal name preserved in the Byzantine transmission of southern Italy, and that the Italianised spelling of the surname reflects the resolution of the l as r, a process that occurred in the family transmission from the original personal name.

According to Miranda, the surname is present in a little under a hundred municipalities of several Italian regions: Sicily —where the main cluster is concentrated, with notable presence in the Agrigento, Palermo, Caltanissetta, Catania and Enna areas—, Piedmont, Lombardy, Lazio, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany.