'HNO3' originates from modern chemical notation, using the element symbols 'H' (hydrogen), 'N' (nitrogen) and 'O' (oxygen) with the numeral '3' indicating three oxygen atoms.

'HNO3' corresponds to the compound historically called 'nitric acid', which in older usage was named from 'nitre' (Latin 'nitrum', Greek 'nitron'); earlier still, concentrated nitric acid was sometimes called 'aqua fortis' in alchemical/early chemistry texts.

Initially, names for the substance emphasized its association with 'nitre' or its strong, corrosive character (e.g. 'aqua fortis'); with development of systematic chemical nomenclature it came to be denoted precisely by the formula 'HNO3', while the English name became 'nitric acid'.