 The Bonin white-eye was described by Heinrich von Kittlitz in 1830 based on specimens collected on Chichijima in the Bonin Islands.Kittlitz placed the species in the bulbul (family Pycnonotidae) genus "Ixos".He gave the species the specific name "familiare" from the Latin for familiar or friendly, as the species was the first bird that visitors would encounter, much like the house sparrow in Europe.