The first "Centrosaurus" remains were discovered and named by paleontologist Lawrence Lambe in strata along the Red Deer River in Alberta, Canada. The name "Centrosaurus" means "pointed lizard" (from Greek ', , "point or prickle" and ', , "lizard"), and refers to the series of small hornlets placed along the margin of their frills, not to the nasal horns (which were unknown when the dinosaur was named). The genus is not to be confused with the stegosaur "Kentrosaurus", the name of which is derived from the same Greek word.