'barchan' originates from Russian, specifically the word 'бархан' (barkhan), which in turn comes from a Turkic source often given as 'barkhan' (or similar forms) where the root meant 'dune' or 'hump'.

'barchan' changed from the Russian word 'бархан' (barkhan) and was borrowed into English (via 19th-century geological and geographic literature) as 'barchan'.

Initially, the term referred generally to a sand hump or dune in Turkic and Russian usage; over time in English it has come to denote specifically the crescent-shaped, wind-formed dune type now called a 'barchan'.