The bald sculpin was first formally described as Blennicottus recalvus in 1899 by the American ichthyologist Arthur White Greeley, with its type locality given as Pacific Grove, California.

[4] The specific name, recalvus, means "bald in front", an allusion to the absence of cirri between the eyes and their sparseness on the crown.

[5] The bald sculpin has a large, depressed, flattened, and broad head with an elongated, tapering body.

The head and body have light to dark brown speckles with paler reddish and white mottles.

[6] The eggs are placed in crevices and on rocks, with their color varying with the environment and possibly by the food consumed by the mother.