The orange-crowned warbler was formally described in 1822 by the American zoologist Thomas Say under the binomial name Sylvia celatus from a specimen collected on an expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains led by Stephen Harriman Long.

[4] The orange-crowned warbler is now placed in the genus Leiothlypis that was introduced by the Dutch ornithologist George Sangster in 2008.

The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek λειος/leios meaning "plain" and θλυπις/thlupis, an unknown small bird mentioned by Aristotle.

[5][6] Four subspecies are recognised:[6] The orange-crowned warbler has olive-grey upperparts, yellowish underparts with faint streaking and a thin pointed bill.

Their breeding habitat is open shrubby areas across Canada, Alaska and the western United States.