The American entomologist Neal Evenhuis created the genus in a 1981 paper in Pacific Insects.

[4] The generic name Brachyanax comes from the Greek βραχύς (brakhús; "small, short")[5] and ἄναξ (ánax; "lord, master, general-in-chief").

[6] The specific epithet of the type species, thelestrephones, comes from the Greek θηλή (thēlḗ; "nipple")[7] and στρέφω (stréphō; "twist").

[4] However, following the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, the type species of the genus remains Brachyanax thelestrephones.

[15][16][17] The other genera placed in Anthracini are: Anthrax, Dicranoclista, Satyramoeba, Spogostylum, Thraxan, Turkmeniella, Walkeromyia, and Xenox.