'aphroditid' originates from New Latin, specifically the taxonomic genus name 'Aphrodita', which ultimately comes from Ancient Greek 'Aphrodite' (Ἀφροδίτη), the name of the goddess of love and beauty.

'Aphrodite' (Greek) was adopted into Latin and New Latin as the genus name 'Aphrodita' for certain marine polychaetes; the family name 'Aphroditidae' and the English common-form 'aphroditid' (and plural 'aphroditids') developed from these taxonomic names to denote members of that group.

Initially the root referred to the mythological figure 'Aphrodite'; over time it became a scientific/taxonomic name for a genus of marine worms and further evolved into the English noun meaning 'a member of the family Aphroditidae'.