'autochthon' originates from Ancient Greek, specifically the word 'autokhthōn' (αὐτόχθων), where 'autos' meant 'self' and 'khthōn' meant 'earth, soil'.

'autokhthōn' passed into scholarly Latin and modern European languages and was borrowed into English as 'autochthon' (plural 'autochthones'), retaining the original Greek components.

Initially, it meant 'born of the soil' or 'sprung from the land'; over time it has been used in anthropology and literature to mean 'indigenous people' or 'native inhabitants'.