The species is named after Patrick Russell (1726–1805), a Scottish herpetologist who first described many of India's snakes, and the name of the genus is from the Hindi word meaning "that lies hid", or "the lurker". In Odia and Bengali this snake is called "chandra-boda" and "chandroborha" respectively since it carries lenticular or more precisely lunar marks all over its body. In Manipuri or Meitei this snake is called "Lindu" and a folk story Kangleipak is associated with it. In Marathi this snake is called "ghonas". Apart from being a member of the big four snakes in India, "Daboia" is also one of the genera responsible for causing the most snakebite incidents and deaths among all venomous snakes on account of many factors, such as their wide distribution, generally aggressive demeanor, and frequent occurrence in highly populated areas.