'prosopis' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'prosopis', which was borrowed from Ancient Greek 'πρόσωπις' (prósōpis), where it referred to a kind of tree.

'prosopis' was used in Latin and Greek to refer to certain trees, and the term was adopted in modern scientific Latin to name the genus 'Prosopis'.

Initially, it referred to a specific kind of tree in the Mediterranean, but in modern taxonomy, it refers to a genus of trees and shrubs found in various parts of the world.