Red beaks was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown who gave it the name Lyperanthus nigricans and published the description in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen. In 1994 David Jones & Mark Clements changed the name to Pyrorchis nigricans. The specific epithet (nigricans) is a Latin word meaning "blackish", "swarthy" or "dark", alluding to the fact that all parts of the plant turn jet black as they age or during the drying process.
