Hakea stenocarpa was first formally described by Robert Brown in 1830 and published the description in Supplementum primum prodromi florae Novae Hollandiae. The specific epithet is derived from the ancient Greek stenos (στενός), "narrow" and karpos (καρπός), "fruit",Backer, C.A. (1936). Verklarend woordenboek der wetenschappelijke namen van de in Nederland en Nederlandsch-Indië in het wild groeiende en in tuinen en parken gekweekte varens en hoogere planten (Edition Nicoline van der Sijs). referring to the shape of the fruit.
