At the time they were often being referred to as the picciotteria, onorata società (honoured society), 'ndrina, Famiglia Montalbano, fibbia, or even camorra.

The Picciotteria, as the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta was called in its infancy, was first noted in an official government document on 15 May 1892. The associates were described as people of a bold and haughty behavior. Exuding an arrogance that dominated their thuggish countenances, these picciotti spoke in jargon, were bandits and outlaws, who carried themselves in a very distinctive fashion, in dress and in manner. Most had tattoos, which in those days were considered a sign of primitive instincts. Anti-social and prone to violence, they would enter a cantina, eat and drink, terrorize the owner and patrons, and exit without paying. A more Italian term for such individuals was Bravi, going back at least to the 1700s and earlier. (The Bravi were bandits under the control of signoritti di campagna, country land owners.)The original meaning of picciotti is boys. Another is members of the Picciotteria. (The word was used in other contexts, one being the military.)