 The genus was named after the Greek general Eumenes.The root of the name has been widely used to construct many other genus-level names for potter wasps with petiolated metasoma, such as "Brachymenes", "Santamenes", "Oreumenes", "Pachymenes", "Katamenes", etc.Most of those groups have been treated as part of the genus "Eumenes" for a long time.