'aplopappus' originates from New Latin (botanical), formed from Greek elements: 'haplós' meaning 'single, simple' and 'pappós' (pappus), referring to the tuft of hairs on a seed—together indicating a plant with a simple pappus.

'Aplopappus' was coined in 19th-century botanical Latin to designate a genus in the Asteraceae; subsequent taxonomic revisions redistributed many of its species into other genera (for example 'Haplopappus' and 'Ericameria'), and the name is now largely obsolete or treated as a synonym in many modern classifications.

Initially it denoted 'a genus characterized by a simple pappus'; over time its use shifted from an actively used genus name to chiefly a historical or synonymic taxonomic label.