'bassanite' originates from New Latin, formed from a personal name component 'Bassan' (a surname used to honor a person) plus the mineral-forming suffix '-ite' (from Greek '-ites'), where '-ites' meant 'connected with' or 'belonging to'.

'bassanite' was coined in mineralogical/chemical literature in the 19th century to name the calcium sulfate hemihydrate phase; the term entered English mineralogical usage largely unchanged from its scientific coinage.

Initially it specifically named the natural mineral form of calcium sulfate hemihydrate; over time the term has also been used in technical contexts for synthetic hemihydrate forms (e.g., certain plasters), but its core sense as the hemihydrate mineral remains.