The name of this genus is derived from the type locality of the Benito River in Equatorial Guinea compounded with chromis, a word which originated with Aristotle and which may derive from the Greek word chroemo, meaning "to neigh" and which may have originally referred to the drums of the family Sciaenidae and which was expanded to include cichlids, damselfishes, dottybacks and wrasses, groups of perch-like fish which were thought to be more closely related to each other than they are subsequent studies have apparently found them to be.
The genus name is derived from the Benito River in Equatorial Guinea, which is combined with "chromis," a word that originated with Aristotle and may have been related to the Greek word "chroemo" meaning "to neigh." This term was originally used for drums of the Sciaenidae family (a group of perch-like fish) and later expanded to include cichlids, damselfishes, dottybacks, and wrasses.