B. Zuanella notes that this surname is typical of the comune of Grimacco, which also gave its name to the small homonymous hamlet on the slopes of Monte San Martino. It is a hybrid surname, formed from the Romance noun canal with the Slovene suffix -ec (dialectal -ac), and originally designated a person coming from some "canal", that is, from some surrounding valley. In the historical toponymy of Friuli, canale was synonymous with valley, as can be seen in names such as Canal del Judri, Canal di Grivò next to Faedis, Canal del Ferro in the Carnia, or the Val Canale (Kanalska dolina).

According to Zuanella, the first bearer of the surname who settled in the territory of Grimacco would probably have come from the Canal del Judrio or from the parish of Kanal/Canale d'Isonzo. From Grimacco, the surname spread towards the San Leonardo valley, Cividale and the rest of Friuli. E. Rossoni agrees on the essentials: the surname would derive from the Friulian dialectal word canal, meaning "valley", and would refer to people coming from nearby valleys, with presence concentrated in the eastern area of Udine, especially in Grimacco.