'Polygonia' originates from Ancient Greek, specifically the elements 'poly-' and 'gonia', where 'poly-' meant 'many' and 'gonia' meant 'angle'.

'Polygonia' was formed as a New Latin taxonomic name in modern biological classification, adopting Greek roots to describe the 'many-angled' appearance of the wings and becoming the established genus name in entomological literature.

Initially the Greek roots literally described 'many angles'; over time the compound 'Polygonia' came to be used specifically as the scientific name for a genus of butterflies rather than a descriptive phrase.