'aucuba' originates from Japanese, specifically a Japanese plant name recorded as 'aukuba' (or similar forms), where the element likely referred to the plant (a local name for the shrub).

'aucuba' was adopted into botanical Latin (New Latin) as the genus name Aucuba based on the Japanese vernacular name and then became the standard scientific name used in modern botany.

Initially it referred to the local/common name for the shrub in Japanese; over time it was formalized as the botanical genus name 'Aucuba' and is now used primarily in scientific and horticultural contexts.