"Stirlingia latifolia" was first published by Robert Brown in 1830 under the name "Simsia latifolia". It was later discovered that the generic name "Simsia", published by Brown in 1810, was illegitimate, as it had already been published in 1807 for a genus of "Asteraceae". A new generic name, "Stirlingia", was published in 1838, but the transfer of the species published under "Simsia" was overlooked at first. "Simsia latifolia" would not be transferred into "Stirlingia" until 1841, when Ernst Steudel published "Stirlingia latifolia" (R.Br.) Steud. Meanwhile, John Lindley had published "Stirlingia paniculata" in his 1839 "A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony"; this would later be shown to be a synonym of "S. latifolia". An attempt was later made to reinstate the name "Simsia"; resulting in its use by Carl Ostenfeld in 1921 when he published a purported variety, "Simsia latifolia" var. "gracilis". This attempt was later rejected.