The term 'Wahabi' entered English in the early 19th century via Anglo-Indian usage, derived from the Arabic name 'Wahhābī', denoting a follower of the theologian Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The name 'Abd al-Wahhab' translates to "servant of the Bestower (God)." English adaptation involved simplifying the Arabic double 'h' and applying the nisba suffix '-i', a common linguistic process for creating demonyms and relational adjectives from Arabic names. The term thus encapsulates a direct transfer of a founder's name into a label for an entire religious movement, reflecting colonial-era encounters with Islamic reformism in the Arabian Peninsula.

This is a loanword and eponym derived from the name of its founder, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703–1792). The name 'Wahhab' itself is an Arabic personal name meaning "the Bestower" (one of the names of God), from the Arabic root 'w-h-b' (to give, bestow). In English, the suffix '-i' (from Arabic nisba suffix '-ī') is added to indicate affiliation or relation, forming an adjective meaning "of or pertaining to Wahhab."