'Aristolochiaceae' originates from New Latin, specifically formed from the genus name 'Aristolochia' plus the standard botanical family suffix '-aceae'; 'Aristolochia' itself comes from Greek 'aristos' meaning 'best' and 'lochia' meaning 'childbirth' (reflecting historical medicinal use).

'Aristolochia' was taken from Greek into Latin as 'Aristolochia', and in modern New Latin the family name was formed by adding the suffix '-aceae', producing the botanical family name 'Aristolochiaceae'.

Initially the elements referred to the Greek name for the genus (with medicinal connotations related to childbirth), but over time the formed compound came to denote the botanical family 'Aristolochiaceae' rather than the original literal sense.