The species was first formally described by the botanist Laurence Haegi in 1999 as part of the work Appendix: Hakea written by Haegi, W.R.Barker, R.M.Barker, and A.J.Wilson as published in Flora of Australia. The specific epithet honours John Maconochie who was the botanist in charge of the Alice Springs Herbarium from 1967 to 1984 who had a keen interest in Hakeas.
