'ethnogeographic' originates from Greek combining elements: 'ethno-' from the word 'ethnos' and 'geo-' plus 'graphic' from the word 'geographia', where 'ethnos' meant 'people' and 'geo-' meant 'earth' and 'graphia' meant 'writing or description'.

'ethnogeography' emerged as a compound in modern English from the combination of 'ethno-' and 'geography' during developments in anthropology and human geography in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and 'ethnogeographic' developed as the adjectival form.

Initially, it meant 'relating to the mapping or description of ethnic groups', and this meaning has remained largely the same, referring to the spatial distribution and relationships of ethnic groups.