'9-anthrone' originates from modern chemical nomenclature, specifically from the combination of the numeral '9' indicating the ring position and the word 'anthrone', where 'anthrone' derives from New Latin/Greek 'anthrac-' from Greek 'ánthrax' meaning 'coal' and the suffix '-one' used in chemical naming meaning 'ketone'.

'9-anthrone' developed from the 19th-century naming of 'anthracene' (from Greek 'ánthrax') to name coal-tar hydrocarbons; the ketone derivative was named 'anthrone', and systematic position numbering produced the modern name '9-anthrone' in IUPAC-style nomenclature.

Initially, names derived from 'anthrac-' referred broadly to coal-tar-derived hydrocarbons; over time the term 'anthrone' came to denote specifically the ketone derivative of anthracene, and '9-anthrone' refers specifically to the ketone at the 9-position.