The genus name Xylota is the Latinized form of the rare Byzantine-Greek ξυλωτή [xsylōtē] meaning wooden, while the Latin species name segnis means slipping or lazy, as this hoverfly usually rests on a leaf and it does not fly frequently. The translation of the taxon could be "lazy wood fly".Johann Wilhelm Meigen, Systematische Beschreibung der bekannten Europäischen zweiflügeligen Insekten, Dritter Theil, Aachen 1822, Seite 211f
