'asparagine' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'asparaginum', where 'aspara-' meant 'asparagus'.

'asparaginum' passed into French as 'asparagine' and was adopted into English as 'asparagine'; the shorter form 'asparagin' has been used as a variant.

Initially, the name simply indicated a substance derived from asparagus; over time it came to denote the specific amino acid now known as asparagine (or asparagin).