'Anglo-American' is a compound formed from the prefix 'Anglo-' and 'American'. 'Anglo-' ultimately comes from the name of the Angles (Old English/Latin 'Angli'), a Germanic tribe whose name gave rise to 'England' and 'English'. 'American' derives from the given name Amerigo (Latinized as 'Americus'), after the explorer Amerigo Vespucci, and was used to form 'America' and 'American'.

'Anglo-' was used from compounds such as 'Anglo-Saxon' and later adopted to form 'Anglo-American' (often first written as 'Anglo American' or hyphenated), with the combined form becoming common in the 19th and 20th centuries to denote English–American people or relations.

Originally formed to denote either people of English descent or connections between English and American institutions, the term has retained that dual sense and is now used both for individuals of English ancestry in America and for cultural/political Anglo–American relations.