Southern boobook point out." Gould recorded local aboriginal names: "Goor-goor-da" (Western Australia), "Mel-in-de-ye" (Port Essington), and "Koor-koo" (South Australia). Alternative common names include spotted owl and brown owl. The Ngarluma people of the western Pilbara knew it as "gurrgumarlu". In the Yuwaaliyaay dialect of the Gamilaraay language of southeastern Australia, the southern boobook is . Dutch naturalist Gerlof Mees and German evolutionary biologist Ernst Mayr regarded the taxonomy of the boobook owl complex as extremely challenging, the latter remarking in 1943 that it was "one of the most difficult problems I have ever encountered". In his 1964 review of Australian owls, Mees
Southern boobook to "N. connivens". Genetic and call analysis show the Christmas boobook ("N. natalis") to be very close to the Australian populations of the southern boobook, leading Gwee and colleagues to suggest it be reclassified within this species. Gwee and colleagues found that boobook populations on larger mountainous islands were more distinct from Australian stock, while those on flatter smaller islands were much more similar, suggesting that these locations were colonised much more recently after previous populations had become extinct. Eleven subspecies of "Ninox boobook" are recognised in version 7.3 of the IOC World Bird List, published in July 2017: The