'hypovolemia' originates from Greek and New Latin elements: the prefix 'hypo-' from Greek ὑπό meaning 'under' and the combining element '-volemia' (from Modern Latin/Neo-Latin), formed with reference to Latin 'volumen' (volume) and the Greek-derived medical suffix '-emia' relating to blood.

'hypovolemia' developed through New Latin medical coinages (e.g. 'hypovolaemia' in British usage); the term combines the prefix 'hypo-' + a formation meaning 'blood volume' and entered modern medical English in the 19th–20th centuries, with variant spellings ('hypovolaemia'/'hypovolemia') reflecting British and American orthography.

Initially coined to denote a reduced 'blood volume' (literally 'under blood-volume'), the term has retained that specific medical meaning and is now the standard term for clinically low circulating blood volume.