'autocephality' originates from English, formed from 'autocephaly' + the noun-forming suffix '-ity'; 'auto-' (from Greek) meant 'self' and 'kephalē' (Greek) meant 'head'.

'autocephality' changed from the established English noun 'autocephaly', which itself comes from Late Greek/Modern ecclesiastical usage based on Greek 'autokephalós' (αὐτοκεφαλός) meaning 'self-headed', and ultimately from Greek elements 'autós' ('self') + 'kephalē' ('head').

Initially it referred literally to 'being self-headed' (a descriptive literal sense), and over time it evolved into the technical sense of 'ecclesiastical independence' and, by extension, 'organizational autonomy'.