The name "Agustinia" honors the discoverer of the specimen, Agustin Martinelli. This dinosaur was originally named in a 1998 abstract written by famous Argentine paleontologist Jose Bonaparte. The original generic name was "Augustia", which, as it turned out, was already preoccupied by a beetle (see also: "Megapnosaurus", "Protognathosaurus"). Bonaparte changed the name to "Agustinia" in a full paper published in 1999. There is one named species ("A. ligabuei"), which is named in honor of Dr. Giancarlo Ligabue, a philanthropist who provided financial support to the expedition which recovered the remains.