 The epithet was derived from the surname of a zoologist, Norman Leslie McKenzie, employed by the Government of Western Australia.The relationships of vespertilionid bats are poorly resolved and while the genus "Falsistrellus" is known to be paraphyletic, all other arrangements of the taxa remain contentious.The species is also recognised as "Pipistrellus mackenziei" (Kitchener, Caputi & Jones, 1986).