 In 1810 Robert Brown changed the name to "Hakea ceratophylla".The specific epithet ("ceratophylla") is derived from the Ancient Greek words "keras, keratos" meaning "horn" and "phyllon" meaning "leaf" apparently referring to the leaves which in some forms have horn-like lobes.The shrub is found in southern areas of Western Australia in the Peel, South West and Great Southern regions of Western Australia where it grows on seasonally damp flats and among granite outcrops in sandy, loamy or gravelly soils.