'anomodontia' originates from New Latin (modern scientific Latin), formed from Greek roots: 'anōmos' (ἀνώμος) meaning 'irregular' or 'without law' (interpreted here as 'abnormal') and 'odous/odont-' (ὀδούς/ὀδοντ-) meaning 'tooth'.

'Anomodontia' was coined in modern taxonomic usage (New Latin) by paleontologists in the 19th–20th centuries to name the group of 'anomodont' therapsids; it derives directly from the Greek-based compound meaning 'irregular-toothed' and was adopted into scientific classification as the formal clade name.

Initially, the component roots described the animals' unusual or reduced dentition ('irregular' or 'abnormal' teeth); over time the compound became a fixed taxonomic name referring to the specific clade rather than a descriptive phrase.