'benzo[h]pyridine' originates from systematic chemical naming: 'benzo' (from 'benzene', indicating a fused benzene ring), the bracketed letter 'h' (a positional letter from IUPAC ring-fusion nomenclature specifying which ring atoms are joined), and 'pyridine' (from Greek-rooted chemical name 'pyrid-', historically associated with coal-tar derivatives).

'benzo[h]pyridine' developed from older, less specific names such as 'benzopyridine' or descriptions like 'benzene-fused pyridine'; as nomenclature for fused-ring isomers standardized in the 20th century (IUPAC conventions), bracketed letters (a, b, c, ... h, etc.) were adopted to indicate exact fusion sites, producing the modern form 'benzo[h]pyridine'.

Initially descriptions emphasized simply a benzene fused to a pyridine ring (a general class); over time the term evolved to denote the specific isomer with fusion at the 'h' position, giving a precise structural meaning.