'australopithecinae' originates from New Latin (taxonomic usage), ultimately formed from the genus name 'Australopithecus' plus the zoological suffix '-inae' indicating a subfamily; 'Australopithecus' itself comes from Latin/Greek roots where 'australo-' meant 'southern' and 'pithecus' (from Greek 'pithēkos') meant 'ape'.

'Australopithecus' was coined as a genus name in the early 20th century (Raymond Dart described Australopithecus africanus in 1925); the subfamily name 'Australopithecinae' was formed later by applying standard zoological Latin suffixes to denote the group containing Australopithecus and related genera.

Initially, the components meant 'southern' + 'ape' ('southern ape'), but over time the term evolved into a technical taxonomic name referring specifically to a group of extinct early hominins rather than a general 'southern ape'.