[3][5] The specific name, jerdonii, is in honor of British herpetologist Thomas C. Jerdon, who collected the type series.

[6] The subspecific name, bourreti, is in honour of French herpetologist René Léon Bourret.

[7] P. jerdonii is found in northeastern India, Nepal, through northern Burma to southwestern China and Vietnam.

[2] The preferred natural habitats of P. jerdonii are forest, shrubland, and grassland, at altitudes of 1,400–2,300 m (4,600–7,500 ft).

[1] Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Protobothrops.