'aphelandra' originates from New (botanical) Latin, formed from Greek elements, where 'apheles' meant 'simple' and 'andros' (from 'anēr, andros') referred to 'male' or 'stamen'.

'aphelandra' was created in botanical Latin from Greek roots ('apheles' + 'andros') and has been used since the 19th century as the genus name for these plants.

Initially the name reflected the morphological notion of 'simple stamens' from the Greek components, but over time it has come to denote the specific genus of tropical flowering plants now known as 'aphelandra'.