This species was first described by George Hudson in 1925 and named Gelechia caerulea. However, in 1928 Hudson, in his seminal work The butterflies and moths of New Zealand, discussed and illustrated this species and spelling the specific epithet caerulaea. This species was placed in the genus Kiwaia in 1988 and in that publication the epithet caerulea was used. However, in the 1988 catalogue of New Zealand Lepidoptera the epithet used was caerulaea. This spelling continues to be used by New Zealand publications and databases such as the New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity and the New Zealand Organisms Register as well as organisations such as Te Papa, Auckland War Memorial Museum, the New Zealand Organisms Register and the New Zealand Arthropod collection.
