'up-and-comer' originates from English, formed by combining the adverb 'up' and the verb phrase 'come up' (meaning 'to rise' or 'to advance'), with the linking 'and' to create the compound noun.

'up-and-comer' developed from the adjective phrase 'up-and-coming' (recorded in the 19th century) which itself derives from the verbal phrase 'come up' (meaning to rise in status). Over time the adjectival form was used substantively to refer to a person, yielding the noun 'up-and-comer'.

Initially related to the idea of 'coming up' or rising in status, it evolved into a noun meaning 'a person likely to become successful or prominent'.