The Eurasian whimbrel was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Scolopax phaeopus.

The specific epithet phaeopus is the Medieval Latin name for the bird, from Ancient Greek phaios, "dusky" and pous, "foot".

[4][11] The common whimbrel was traditionally considered a sub-cosmopolitan bird, breeding in Russia and Canada, then migrating to coasts all around the world to spend the winter.

[12] In 2020, the New World population was recognised as a separate species, with the whimbrel in North America being assigned to the binomial name Numenius hudsonicus.

[citation needed] The whimbrel is a migratory bird wintering on coasts in Africa, and South Asia into Australasia.

It is found in Ireland and the United Kingdom, and it breeds in Scotland, particularly around Shetland, Orkney, the Outer Hebrides as well as the mainland at Sutherland and Caithness.

It has also been observed taking insects, specifically blue tiger butterflies[16] The whimbrel is listed in the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds.

Near the end of the 19th century, hunting on the Eurasian whimbrel's migration routes took a heavy toll on its population, which has since recovered.