'objectivism' originates from English, formed from the adjective 'objective' plus the suffix '-ism', where 'objective' meant 'relating to objects or external reality' and '-ism' marks a doctrine or system of thought.

'objectivism' developed in English from earlier philosophical uses of 'objective' (from French 'objectif') and ultimately from Latin 'objectum' (from ob- + iacere 'to throw'), and the suffix '-ism' (via Greek/Latin/French) produced the noun meaning 'doctrine about the objective'.

Initially used in philosophy to denote the doctrine that objects or truths are independent of the mind, the term later became widely recognized as the proper name of Ayn Rand's specific philosophical system emphasizing reason and rational self-interest.