[1] The specific name, moreletii, is in honor of French naturalist Pierre Marie Arthur Morelet.

[4] A. moreletii is native to southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.

[1] The natural habitat of A. moreletii consists of Central American pine-oak forests and cloud forests between 1,450 and 2,530 metres (4,760 and 8,300 ft) above sea level.

[1] The following subspecies are recognized as being valid:[3] Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Abronia.

The subspecific name, rafaeli, is in honor of Mexican herpetologist Rafael Martín del Campo.