The name chiton is [[New Neo-Latin]] derived from the [[Ancient Greek]] word ''khitōn'', meaning [[tunic]] (which also is the source of the word [[chitin]]). The Ancient Greek word ''khitōn'' can be traced to the Central Semitic word ''*kittan'', which is from the [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] words ''kitû'' or ''kita'um'', meaning flax or linen, and originally the [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] word ''gada'' or ''gida''.{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}}
The Greek-derived name Polyplacophora comes from the words ''poly-'' (many), ''plako-'' (tablet), and ''-phoros'' (bearing), a reference to the chiton's eight shell plates.