'ashrafi' originates from Arabic, specifically the word 'ashrafī' (أشرفي), where 'al-Ashraf' was a regnal name meaning 'most noble' or 'honorable'.

'ashrafi' changed from the medieval Arabic/Mamluk coin-name 'ashrafī' and passed into Ottoman Turkish and Persian usage (forms like 'ashrafi' / 'ashrafī'), eventually entering modern English as 'ashrafi'.

Initially, it meant 'of al-Ashraf' (a regnal attribution), but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'a specific gold coin used in the medieval Islamic world'.