'balaenid' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'Balaenidae', where 'balaena' meant 'whale' and the suffix '-idae' denotes a family.

'balaenid' changed from Latin 'balaena' and the New Latin family name 'Balaenidae' and eventually became the modern English word 'balaenid'.

Initially, it referred to taxa related to 'balaena' (whale) in scientific classification; over time it came to mean specifically 'a member of the family Balaenidae (right whales)'.