The word hemimorphic is an adjective used to describe a crystal that has terminations of different shapes at the end of its primary crystallographic axis. Adolph Kenngott knew that hemimorphite was one of just a few minerals that produced hemimorphic crystals. That inspired him to use the name hemimorphite in 1853.

Prior to Kenngott’s use of the name, hemimorphite and smithsonite were both called “calamine”. In 1962 the International Mineralogical Association chose to use the name hemimorphite for the mineral.