The Manx shearwater was first described by Danish zoologist Morten Thrane Brünnich as "Procellaria puffinus" in 1764. The current scientific name "Puffinus" derives from "puffin" and its variants, such as poffin, pophyn, and puffing, which referred to the cured carcass of the fat nestling of the shearwater, a former delicacy. The original usage dates from at least 1337, but from as early as 1678, the term gradually came to be used for another seabird, the Atlantic puffin. The current English name was first recorded in 1835 and refers to the former nesting of this species on the Isle of Man.