'Ancylostomatidae' originates from New Latin (taxonomic formation), ultimately from Greek elements: 'ankylos' meaning 'bent, hooked' and 'stoma' meaning 'mouth', combined with the family suffix '-idae' (Latinized Greek).

'Ancylostomatidae' was formed by taking the genus name 'Ancylostoma' (from Greek 'ankylos' + 'stoma') and adding the standard zoological family ending '-idae', producing the family name 'Ancylostomatidae' in modern taxonomic usage.

Initially the root components referred literally to a 'hooked mouth' (describing the morphology of the worm's mouthparts); over time the term evolved to denote the entire taxonomic family of organisms that share that morphology (the hookworms).