'greenbottle' originates from English as a compound of 'green' and 'bottle', where 'green' (Old English 'grēne') meant 'green' and 'bottle' (Old French 'boteille') meant 'container'.

'green' comes from Old English 'grēne'; 'bottle' entered English from Old French 'boteille' (via Middle English) ultimately from Late Latin 'butticula'. The phrase 'green bottle' in Middle English referred to a green-colored bottle and later the fused form 'greenbottle' came to be used, especially for the fly.

Initially it referred to a green-colored bottle; over time the name was also applied to the metallic green blowfly because of the insect's bright green color.