'atamasco' originates from American English, likely borrowed from a Native American source (possibly Timucua or a Muskogean language), used by early European settlers to name the local lily.

'atamasco' appears in colonial and botanical English as a local or vernacular name for the lily and was adopted into modern botanical usage without major form change.

Initially it referred specifically to the local wild lily encountered by colonists; its meaning has remained largely the same as the common name for that plant.