The name Megalania prisca was coined in 1859 by Sir Richard Owen to mean "ancient great roamer"; the name was chosen "in reference to the terrestrial nature of the great Saurian".[1] Owen used a modification of the Greek word ἠλαίνω ēlainō ("I roam"). The close similarity to the Latin word: lania (feminine form of "butcher") has resulted in numerous taxonomic and popular descriptions of megalania mistranslating the name as "ancient giant butcher."