The species has had a fairly uneventful taxonomic history since publication, with only three events of taxonomic interest since publication. In 1891, Otto Kuntze made an unsuccessful attempt to transfer the genus "Dryandra" into the name "Josephia", in the process publishing the name "Josephia nobilis" for this species. That name is now considered a nomenclatural synonym of "B. nobilis". In 1996 Alex George published a subspecies, "D. nobilis" subsp. "fragrans" (now "B. nobilis" subsp. "fragrans"), therefore also invoking the autonym "D. nobilis" subsp. "nobilis" (now "B. nobilis" subsp. "nobilis") to encompass the type material. Finally, in 2007 the genus "Dryandra" was transferred into "Banksia" by Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele, resulting in the publication of the current name for this species, "Banksia nobilis" (Lindl.) A.R.Mast & K.R.Thiele.