'astacidae' originates from New Latin, formed from the genus name 'Astacus' plus the zoological family suffix '-idae' (from Greek '-idai').

'Astacus' (the genus name) comes from Latin 'Astacus', which in turn derives from Ancient Greek 'ἀστακός' ('astakos'), meaning 'lobster' or 'crayfish'. The modern family name 'astacidae' was formed by adding the standard family suffix '-idae' to the genus name.

Initially the Greek word meant 'lobster' or 'crayfish'; over time the term was Latinized and then adapted into modern zoological nomenclature to denote a taxonomic family ('Astacidae') of freshwater crayfish.