 The genus name "Xenospiza" is from the Ancient Greek "xénos" (ξένος), "a stranger", and "spíza" (σπίζα), "finch".The species name "baileyi" is a dedication to Alfred M. Bailey, who collected the 1931 specimen for Outram Bangs.The Sierra Madre sparrow was first discovered by scientists in the Sierra de Bolaños near Bolaños, Jalisco, in 1889.