'aurichalcite' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'aurichalcum', where 'auri-' meant 'gold' (from Latin 'aurum') and '-chalcum' comes from Greek 'chalkos' meaning 'copper'.

'aurichalcite' changed from the Greek word 'oreikhalkos' (ὀρείχαλκος, literally 'mountain copper'), which was Latinized as 'aurichalcum', and the form was later adopted into modern mineralogical nomenclature in the 19th century as 'aurichalcite'.

Initially, the root referred to the metal or alloy 'orichalcum' (a brass- or copper-like metal of ancient/magical reference); over time the element of the name was repurposed in mineralogy and it came to denote the specific copper–zinc carbonate mineral now called 'aurichalcite'.