'tonalist' originates from English, formed by adding the agentive suffix '-ist' to 'tonal' (from 'tonalism'), where 'tonal' ultimately relates to 'tone'.

'tonalist' developed from the adjective 'tonal' and the noun 'tonalism' in late 19th/early 20th century English. 'Tonal' comes from Middle English 'tone' (from Old French 'ton', Latin 'tonus', and Greek 'tonos'), then 'tonalism' described an art movement, and 'tonalist' denoted its practitioners.

Originally 'tone' (from Greek 'tonos') referred to pitch or tension in sound; over time 'tone' extended to color, mood, and musical key — and 'tonalist' came to mean a person emphasizing those tonal qualities in art or music.