Charles Ellicott Commentary Luke 23:33

"And when they came unto the place which is called The skull, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left." — Luke 23:33 (ASV)

The place, which is called Calvary.—On the place and name, see Note on Matthew 27:33. As a matter of translation, it would clearly have been better either to give the Greek form (Cranion), or its meaning (= “skull”) in English. The Vulgate, however, had given Calvarium, and that word had taken so strong a hold on people’s minds, that it was apparently thought better, as in all the English versions, to retain it here. It is not without interest to note that the name which more than any other is associated with Protestant hymns and meditations on the atonement, should come to us from the Vulgate of the Latin Church.