'aphididae' originates from New Latin, formed from the genus name 'Aphis' (from Greek 'aphis', meaning 'aphid') plus the taxonomic suffix '-idae' from Modern Latin/Greek used for animal family names.

'aphis' (Greek) gave rise to the New Latin genus name 'Aphis'; this was extended with the family-forming suffix '-idae' in scientific Latin to form 'Aphididae', the modern family name.

Initially the root referred to the insect 'aphid'; over time the combined form 'Aphididae' came to denote the entire family (a taxonomic rank) rather than a single species.