'Atenist' comes from 'Aten', the name of the Egyptian sun-disk deity, combined with the English suffix '-ist' (from Greek '-istēs') meaning 'one who practices or is concerned with'.

'Aten' originates in ancient Egyptian (often transliterated as 'jtn' or 'itn') meaning 'disk' or 'sun disk'; the Egyptological form 'Aten' entered modern scholarship, giving rise to 'Atenism' for the associated religion and then to the English agent noun 'Atenist'.

Originally 'Aten' referred to the physical concept of the sun disk; over time, in English usage the derived term 'Atenist' has come to mean specifically 'a follower or worshiper of the Aten'.