'apatite' originates from Modern Latin, specifically the word 'apatites', ultimately from Greek 'apatēs', where 'apatēs' meant 'deceit' or 'one who deceives'.

'apatite' passed from Greek 'apatēs' into Late/Modern Latin as 'apatites', was adopted into French as 'apatite', and then entered English as 'apatite' in the late 18th century.

Initially, the name reflected the idea of a 'deceptive' or easily mistaken stone (because apatite can resemble other minerals); over time it came to denote this specific group of phosphate minerals and their biological forms.