The specific name, mccordi, is in honor of American veterinarian William Patrick McCord (born 1950).

[3] Originally described by American herpetologist Carl Henry Ernst in 1988 from a specimen obtained from the Chinese pet trade, C. mccordi lacked geographic range data for 19 years until Chinese herpetologist Ting Zhou et al. (2007) were able to report it from the wild.

[citation needed] McCord's box turtle is endemic to central Guangxi province, China.

[4] C. mccordi is one of the most endangered Chinese endemic turtle species, highly sought after for traditional Chinese medicine and by turtle hobbyists.

[citation needed] Once thought to reach only 14 cm (5.5 in) straight carapace length, specimens of McCord's box turtle of up to 18 cm (7.1 in) straight carapace length are known now.[when?