The name "Caecilian" derives from the Latin word "caecus" = blind, referring to the small or sometimes non-existing eyes. The name dates back to the taxonomic name of the first species described by Carolus Linnaeus, which he gave the name "Caecilia tentaculata". The taxonomic name of the order derives from the Greek words γυμνος ("gymnos", naked) and οφις ("ophis", snake), as the caecilians were originally thought to be related to snakes.