 De Candolle transferred "Chamelaucium brownii" (as "Verticordia brownii") and "Chamelaucium fontanesii" (now known as "Verticordia plumosa") to the new genus but did not nominate a type species or provide an etymology for the name.It is possible that the type for "Chamelaucium fontanesii" was collected by Archibald Menzies in 1791 but collections of this species had also been made by Leschenault in 1803.The derivation of the name "Verticordia" was not explained by de Candolle, but it has generally been taken as a reference to the epithet of the ancient Roman goddess Venus.