The specific epithet is named for an emblem of Western Australia, "Cygnus atratus", the black swan. The holotype was collected by George in a pool at Rottnest, at a depth of 1 metre, and preserved at the state's museum (WAM); other specimens in their collection were reclassified as paratypes. George's taxon was demoted to a subspecies until the 1970s, when a revision recognised the population as a species. The recognition of the species was relevant to the conservation of its related fishing industry, it is unique to the region and could not be naturally repopulated from other regions.