According to Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, the Germanized word Hartschier originally derived from the Italian word arciere for archer, but it might also be possible that it has Spanish roots, because the Bavarian Duke William IV received a Spanish archer company () of Charles I of Spain and added Bavarian court bodyguards with notable roots in the deep Middle Ages. On April 13, 1669, Ferdinand Maria transformed this unit to the Hartschier-Garde. The name of the former Austrian equivalent, the k.u.k. Arcièren-Leibgarde, is similar-sounding.