'ashtoreth' originates from Northwest Semitic languages, specifically the Hebrew form 'ʾAshtoreth' (אשתרת) derived from Phoenician/West Semitic names for the goddess (compare 'ʿAštart' / 'Astarte'), which in turn relates to the Mesopotamian name 'Ishtar'.

'ashtoreth' entered English via translations of the Hebrew Bible and through classical languages (Greek and Latin). The goddess name evolved from Akkadian 'Ishtar' and West Semitic 'ʿAštart' into Phoenician 'ʿAštart'/'Astarte', was rendered in Biblical Hebrew as 'ʾAshtoreth', and then transmitted into English in forms such as 'Ashtoreth' and 'Astarte'.

Initially, the name denoted a major Near Eastern fertility/war goddess; over time, especially in Hebrew biblical contexts, it took on a negative/foreign-idolatrous sense, and in later Western usage it is primarily a historical or literary name for that goddess.