'sauropodomorph' originates from Greek (via Neo-Latin), specifically the elements 'sauros' (Greek), 'pous/pod' (Greek) and 'morphē' (Greek), where 'sauros' meant 'lizard', 'pous/pod' meant 'foot', and 'morphē' meant 'form'.

'sauropodomorph' changed from the scientific taxonomic name 'Sauropodomorpha' (a Neo-Latin name formed in modern paleontology) and eventually became the English noun 'sauropodomorph' used to refer to individual members of that clade.

Initially, the term primarily denoted the taxonomic group 'Sauropodomorpha'; over time it also came to be used in English to refer to individual animals that belong to that group.