[4] The genus name is derived from the Greek γέρανος ("géranos"), meaning crane, with reference to the fruit capsule resembling the bird's bill.

The specific Latin name sanguineum means 'blood-red'; Linnaeus cites Gaspard Bauhin's 1623 book Pinax theatri botanici as his source for the name, which in turn refers ("sanguinaria radix") to a blood-red root.

[5] Geranium sanguineum has a hemicryptophyte plant life-form, with its overwintering buds situated just below the soil surface, and the floral axis more or less erect with a few leaves.

The flowers are produced singly (not in clusters, as in many other Geranium species), 2.5–4 cm diameter, with petals 12–18 mm wide, and are bright crimson.

[1] It typically occurs in grassland, being particularly abundant on coastal sand dunes,[9] but also in open woodland on calcareous soils, including rocky slopes.