The tribe Neotragini comprises a variety of dwarf antelopes apart from "Neotragus" – these include "Dorcatragus" (beira), "Ourebia" (oribi), "Madoqua" (dik dik), "Oreotragus" (klipspringer) and "Raphicerus". The tribe has been shown to be paraphyletic. A 2014 phylogenetic analysis based on cytochrome b sequences and linear skull measurements showed polyphyly in "Neotragus". The royal antelope is likely to have had an ancestor in common with the klipspringer and duikers (subfamily Cephalophinae). The genus "Neotragus" was formerly confused with the distantly related pygmy antelope genus "Nesotragus" (von Düben, 1846), from Greek νῆσος ("nêsos"), "island".