'anti-Darwinism' originates from the Greek prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against') combined with the surname 'Darwin' (from the English name derived from Old English 'Deorwine') and the suffix '-ism' (from Greek '-ismos' via Latin/French, meaning 'doctrine' or 'system').

'anti-Darwinism' developed in English in the 19th century as a label for opposition to Charles Darwin's ideas; early usages appeared as phrases like 'opposition to Darwin' and as the adjective 'anti-Darwinian' before the noun form 'anti-Darwinism' became common.

Initially, it specifically meant 'opposition to Darwin's published theory of evolution by natural selection'; over time it broadened to cover a range of scientific, religious, and philosophical objections to Darwinian explanations and sometimes to wider anti-evolutionary movements.