It was first given the name "Campanula vidalii" by Hewett Cottrell Watson in "Hooker's Icones Plantarum", table DCLXXXIV (684); Watson gave it the specific name "vidalii" after "Capt. Vidal, R.N.", who collected the original plant. Heinrich Feer changed the name to "Azorina vidalii", creating a new genus "Azorina", in "Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie", 12, S. 611.