'Chamaemelum' originates from Ancient Greek, specifically the word 'chamaimēlon' (χαμαιμήλον), where 'chamai-' meant 'on the ground' and 'mēlon' meant 'apple' (used for fruit or fragrant plant).

'Chamaemelum' was adopted into Latin from the Greek 'chamaimēlon' and later fixed as a botanical genus name in modern botanical Latin as 'Chamaemelum.'

Initially, it meant 'ground-apple' (a descriptive name for low-growing aromatic plants), but over time it came to be used specifically as the scientific name for a genus of chamomile-like plants.