'artiodactyla' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'Artiodactyla', where the element 'artio-' (from Greek 'artios') meant 'even' and the element '-dactyla' (from Greek 'daktulos') meant 'finger' or 'toe'.

'artiodactyla' changed from the Greek elements 'artios' + 'daktulos' into Neo-Latin 'Artiodactyla' and entered scientific English usage in the 19th century as the name of the order.

Initially it literally meant 'even-fingered' (i.e., having even-numbered digits), but over time it became the formal name for the order of even-toed ungulate mammals.