'anaspides' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'anaspis', where 'an-' meant 'without' and 'aspis' meant 'shield'.

'anaspides' was adopted in scientific Latin from Greek 'anaspis', and eventually became the modern scientific genus name 'Anaspides'.

Initially, it referred to 'without a shield', describing the lack of a carapace in these crustaceans, and now it is used as the genus name for these animals.