The genus name Plectorhyncha is derived from a combination of the Greek words for "a spear point" and "the bill" and refers to the fine pointed bill.
Honeyeaters are related to the Pardalotidae (pardalotes), Acanthizidae (Australian warblers, scrubwrens, thornbills, etc.), and the Maluridae (Australian fairy-wrens) in a large Meliphagoidea superfamily [REF].