The varied tit was described by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck and the German ornithologist Hermann Schlegel in 1845 and given the binomial name Parus varius. Until the end of the twentieth century the varied tit was usually placed along with most of the other member of the tit family in the genus Parus.
In 1845, Coenraad Jacob Temminck and Hermann Schlegel described the varied tit as Parus varius. Throughout the latter part of the twentieth century, this bird was commonly classified alongside other members of the tit family in the genus Parus.