'Ashkenazim' originates from Hebrew, specifically the word 'אַשְׁכְּנַז' (Ashkenaz), where the name referred in medieval Jewish usage to the region later identified with Germany and German-speaking lands.

'Ashkenazim' changed from the Hebrew place-name 'אַשְׁכְּנַז' ('Ashkenaz') and the adjectival/ethnic form 'Ashkenazi' (used in medieval Hebrew and Yiddish). The term entered English via Yiddish and modern Hebrew usage and is used today as the plural English form 'Ashkenazim'.

Initially, it meant 'people from the region called Ashkenaz (associated with Germany)'; over time it evolved to mean 'Jews of Central and Eastern European descent' and their cultural/ethnic identity.