 The generic name "Leedsichthys" means "Leeds' fish", from Greek ἰχθύς, "ichthys", "fish".The fossils found by Leeds gave the fish the specific epithet "problematicus" because the remains were so fragmented that they were extremely hard to recognize and interpret.After a second publication in 1889, objections were raised against the perceived "barbaric" nature of the generic name, which simply attached a non-Latinised British family name to a Classical Greek word.