'coccygeal' originates from Latin and Greek: from Latin 'coccygeus' and directly from Greek 'kokkyx' (κοκκύξ), where 'kokkyx' meant 'cuckoo' (named for the shape of the bone resembling a cuckoo's beak).

'coccygeal' developed via Late Latin 'coccyx'/'coccygeus' (from Greek 'kokkyx') into Medieval/Modern Latin anatomical terms and then into English as the adjective 'coccygeal'.

Initially named from the Greek word for 'cuckoo' because of a perceived resemblance; over time the term's use narrowed to refer specifically to the anatomical coccyx and things relating to it.