The name "aardvark" is Afrikaans (), comes from earlier Afrikaans  and means "earth pig" or "ground pig" (aarde: "earth", vark: "pig", or "young pig"/child), because of its burrowing habits.
ðə nˈeɪm "ˈɑːɹdvɑːɹk" ɪz ˈæfɹɪkˌɑːnz, kˈʌmz fɹʌm ˈɜːlɪɚɹ ˈæfɹɪkˌɑːnz ænd mˈiːnz "ˈɜːθ pˈɪɡ" ɔːɹ "ɡɹˈaʊnd pˈɪɡ" ˈɑːɹd: "ˈɜːθ", vˈɑːɹk: "pˈɪɡ", ɔːɹ "jˈʌŋ pˈɪɡ"slˈæʃ tʃˈaɪld, bɪkˈʌz ʌv ɪts bˈɜːɹoʊɪŋ hˈæbɪts.