'appellation' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'appellatio', where 'appellare' meant 'to name, to call upon'.

'appellation' passed into Old French (appelacion/appellation) and Middle English (apellation/appellacioun), eventually becoming the modern English 'appellation'.

Initially it referred to the act of calling or addressing ('a calling'), but over time it came to mean the 'name or title' assigned to someone or something.