The spotted eagle ray was first described by Swedish botanist Bengt Anders Euphrasén as "Raja narinari" in 1790 from a specimen collected at an unknown location (possibly the coast of Brazil) during a trip he made to the Antilles, and was later classified as "Stoasodon narinari". Its current genus name is "Aetobatus", derived from the Greek words "aetos" (eagle) and "batis" (ray). The spotted eagle ray belongs to the Myliobatidae, which includes the well known manta ray. Most rays in the family Myliobatidae swim in the open ocean rather than close to the sea floor.