"Nepenthes × kinabaluensis" was first collected near Kambarangoh by Lilian Gibbs in 1910 and later mentioned by Macfarlane as ""Nepenthes" sp." in 1914. Although Macfarlane did not formally name the plant, he noted that "ll available morphological details suggest that this is a hybrid between "N. villosa" and "N. rajah"". The name "N. × kinabaluensis" was first published in Shigeo Kurata's 1976 book, "Nepenthes of Mount Kinabalu", but was a "nomen nudum" at the time as it lacked an adequate description and information on the type specimen. The name was subsequently published validly by Kurata in 1984.