'axolotl' originates from Nahuatl, specifically the word 'āxōlōtl', where 'ātl' meant 'water' and 'xōlōtl' meant 'dog' or 'monster'.

'axolotl' was borrowed into Spanish (as 'ajolote') and later entered English from Spanish and scientific usage, preserving a form close to the original Nahuatl term.

Initially it meant 'water-dog' or 'water-monster' in Nahuatl; over time it came to refer specifically to the Mexican salamander species now called 'axolotl', including its biological traits (neoteny and regeneration).