'archidiskodon' originates from modern scientific Latin formation using Greek roots, specifically 'archi-' and 'diskodon', where 'archi-' meant 'chief, principal' and 'diskodon' meant 'disc-shaped tooth' (from 'diskos' = disc + 'odōn/odont-' = tooth).

'archidiskodon' was coined as a genus name in 19th-century paleontology for large fossil elephants; subsequent taxonomic revisions reassigned some species to genera such as 'Mammuthus' or 'Elephas', making 'archidiskodon' variably treated or considered a synonym in later literature.

Initially, the elements described tooth morphology ('chief disc-tooth'), but over time the term became fixed as a taxonomic name for an extinct genus of proboscideans.