'Antilopinae' originates from New Latin, formed from the generic name 'Antilope' (itself from Greek 'antilōpē') plus the zoological Latin suffix '-inae' used to denote a subfamily.

'Antilope' came into Medieval/Scientific Latin as 'antilopa' (from Old French/Medieval forms such as 'antelop'), ultimately from Greek 'antilōpē' (ἀντίλοπη). The modern taxonomic name 'Antilopinae' was formed by adding the suffix '-inae' to the genus/root.

Originally the root referred to the common animal 'antelope'; over time the form was adopted into scientific Latin and later became the formal name for the taxonomic subfamily 'Antilopinae'.