The term libertarian was first coined by Joseph Déjacque https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_D%C3%A9jacque https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_D%C3%A9jacque

The term libertarian was first coined by Joseph Déjacque https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_D%C3%A9jacque https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_D%C3%A9jacque ... a French anarcho-communist, to describe, himself. It's important to note, that the US is the exception to the rule here. But even within the US, Noam Chomsky, the worlds most cited intellectual quantified by the post-enlightenment journal system, self-describes as a libertarian socialist. And there's no doubt that he is on the left. I think it's use in the US is a product of the fact there is no Labor / Socialist party that is the main center left party. So the Democrats are "Liberals" and a word had to be used for those who were on the right, but liberal. I think the modern, US-centered, use of Libertarian for "conservative economics, socially liberal" can be dated "post-Regan" if I'm not mistaken?