It is named after the Dane Hans Christian Lyngbye.

As a result of recent genetic analyses, several new genera were erected from the genus Lyngbya: e.g., Moorea,[1] Limnoraphis,[2] Okeania,[3] Microseira,[4] and Dapis.

[5] Several specimens identified as L. majuscula and collected in marine tropical regions are now classified as members of the genera Okeania and Moorea.

The toxins antillatoxin and kalkitoxin[8] and the lipopeptide dragomabin[9] have been isolated from L. majuscula.

Serinolamide A is a cannabinoid structurally related to anandamide that has been found to occur in Lyngbya majuscula.