Michel Adanson used the term Vaccinia to describe a similar family, but first used the term Ericaceae. The name comes from the type genus "Erica", which appears to be derived from the Greek word (). The exact meaning is difficult to interpret, but some sources show it as meaning 'heather'. The name may have been used informally to refer to the plants before Linnaean times, and simply been formalised when Linnaeus described "Erica" in 1753, and then again when Jussieu described the Ericaceae in 1789.