Since the species' description by zoologist and pharmacist Edward Blyth in 1861,[1][5] Bungarus multicinctus has been the binomial of the species. The generic name, Bungarus, is a Latinisation of Telugu baṅgāru, "krait."[6] The specific name multicinctus is derived from the Latin multi-, combining form of multus, "much, many",[7] and Latin cinctus, past participle of cingere, "to encircle"—as in a "band".[8] The full species name (Bungarus multicinctus) thus literally means "many-banded krait".