'anomuran' originates from New Latin 'Anomura', formed from Greek roots: 'anomalos' meaning 'uneven, irregular' and 'oura' meaning 'tail'.

'Anomura' was coined in scientific (New Latin) taxonomy using Greek elements and entered English as the taxonomic name; the English noun/adjective 'anomuran' derived from that taxonomic name.

Initially, the roots described an 'irregular tail' (a morphological feature); over time the term came to denote the taxonomic group (members of the infraorder Anomura) rather than only the literal 'irregular tail'.