'Anhima' most likely originates from an indigenous South American language (possibly Tupi or a related language), where a similar form referred to a large waterbird.

'Anhima' was adopted into New Latin as a scientific genus name for the horned screamer and related birds, and has been used in taxonomic literature since the 18th–19th century.

Initially it referred to a local name for the bird; over time it became fixed as the formal scientific genus name 'Anhima'.