The genus was introduced in 1828 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1828.

Boie spelled the genus name as Lipangus but this was corrected to Lipaugus.

[2][3] The name comes from the Greek lipaugēs, meaning "dark" or "devoid of light".

[4] The type species was designated by George Gray in 1840 as the screaming piha.

[7] The dusky, chestnut-capped, cinnamon-vented, and scimitar-winged pihas may form a superspecies.