'upper-bathyal' originates from English compounds: 'upper' (Old English origin, specifically from words like 'ūpera' where 'ūp' meant 'up' and the comparative suffix '-er' indicated 'more above') and 'bathyal' (from Greek via New Latin, specifically the Greek word 'bathys', where 'bathys' meant 'deep').

'bathyal' was coined in scientific usage in the 19th century from Greek 'bathys' via New Latin/French forms (e.g. 'bathyalis') and entered English as 'bathyal'; the compound 'upper-bathyal' developed later in oceanography to denote the upper part of that zone.

Initially 'bathys' meant 'deep' in Greek, and 'bathyal' originally signified 'relating to depth'; over time it came to denote a specific oceanic depth zone (~200–2000 m), and 'upper-bathyal' narrowed the meaning further to the upper portion of that zone (commonly ~200–1000 m).