 Upon their discovery, the microfilariae were named "Filaria sanguinis hominis minor", due to their relatively small size when compared to another type of microfilarae found in the same patient ("Filaria sanguinis hominis major", which is now known as "Loa loa").The name was later changed to "Filaria sanguinis hominis perstans", and later again shortened to "Filaria perstans" to comply with the binary system of nomenclature.Over time, the name continued to change as changes in the generic status of the parasite took place.