'Arapaho' originates from an Algonquian source, specifically from an Arapaho autonym often rendered as 'Hinónoʼeitíít', where the element meant 'our people'.

'Arapaho' entered European usage in the 18th century (via French and English forms such as 'Arapaho'/'Arapahoe') taken from the native self-name and was adopted into modern English as 'Arapaho'.

Initially it referred primarily to the group's self-designation meaning 'our people'; over time in English it came to denote the tribe as a distinct ethnic group and, by extension, their language and cultural attributes.