'paleoanthropologist' originates from Greek and New Latin components: specifically from Greek 'palaios' meaning 'ancient/old' + Greek 'ánthrōpos' meaning 'human' + the suffix from Greek/Latin '‑logia'/'‑logist' meaning 'study'/'one who studies'.

'palaeo-' + 'anthropology' (the study of ancient humans) produced the noun 'palaeoanthropology' in modern scientific usage; the agent noun 'palaeoanthropologist' (British spelling) and the variant 'paleoanthropologist' (American spelling) developed in the 19th–20th centuries as the field and its practitioners were named.

Initially it referred specifically to a scholar studying ancient humans; over time the meaning has remained focused on researchers who investigate human origins through fossil and archaeological evidence, though the methods and scope have broadened.