'anthropogenetic' originates from Modern Latin/Greek formation, specifically from Greek 'ἄνθρωπος' ('anthropos') meaning 'human' and Greek 'γενετικός' ('genetikos') meaning 'relating to birth/origin'.

'anthropogenetic' was formed in English by combining the prefix 'anthropo-' (from Greek 'anthropos') with the adjective-forming element related to 'genesis'/'genetikos'; the formation follows New Latin and scientific coinages of the 19th–20th centuries and entered English as a technical/academic adjective.

Initially used to denote matters 'relating to the origin of humans' and this core sense has remained, though some writers later used it (rarely) to mean 'caused by humans', conflating it with 'anthropogenic'.