'hCG' originates as an abbreviation of 'human chorionic gonadotropin', where 'chorionic' ultimately comes from Greek 'chorion' meaning 'membrane' and 'gonadotropin' comes from Greek roots 'gonado-' meaning 'gonad' and '-tropin' meaning 'to stimulate/turn'.

'human chorionic gonadotropin' was coined in 20th-century medical and endocrinological literature from Greek/Latin-derived elements; the abbreviated form 'hCG' arose later as a clinical shorthand for tests and records.

Initially named to describe a placental hormone associated with pregnancy, the term has kept that core meaning but expanded in use to refer also to test results, clinical measurements, therapeutic preparations, and (less commonly) tumor markers that secrete hCG.