'chiton' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'khitōn', where 'khitōn' meant 'tunic'. In zoology, the New Latin genus name 'Chiton' (based on the same Greek root) motivated the common name for the mollusk.

'khitōn' passed into Latin as 'chiton' and then into English as 'chiton' (garment). In the 18th century, New Latin 'Chiton' was established as a genus name in zoology, and this usage eventually became the common English name for the mollusk.

Initially, it meant 'a tunic (garment)', but it later broadened to include 'a marine mollusk with a tunic-like series of shell plates'.