'Ambon' (place name) in modern English comes via European colonial forms such as Portuguese 'Amboina' and Dutch 'Ambon(a)', ultimately from local Austronesian/Malay place names for the island and settlement. The liturgical term 'ambon' (a raised platform) originates from Greek 'ἄμβων' (ambōn) meaning 'a projecting place, step, or pulpit.'

The place-name passed from local usage into Portuguese as 'Amboina' and Dutch as 'Ambon(a)', which were adopted into English as 'Ambon.' Separately, the liturgical Greek 'ἄμβων' entered Late Latin as 'ambōnem' and medieval ecclesiastical usage, and from there into English as 'ambon' (also spelled 'ambo').

For the place name, the term originally identified a local island/settlement and retained that geographic meaning as European languages adopted it. For the liturgical term, the original sense 'raised place/step' in Greek has been retained as the meaning 'pulpit/platform' in ecclesiastical contexts.