'Marmota' originates from French, specifically the word 'marmotte', where the root meant 'marmot' (a type of large ground squirrel).

'Marmota' changed from Medieval Latin/Old French words such as 'marmotta'/'marmote' and was later adopted in Neo-Latin as the scientific genus name 'Marmota'.

Initially, related words referred generally to the animal 'marmot'; over time the form 'Marmota' became fixed as the taxonomic genus name used in scientific classification.