[citation needed] The phosphate was first distinguished chemically by M. H. Klaproth in 1784,[9][10][11][12] and it was named pyromorphite by J. F. L. Hausmann in 1813.

[13][14] The name is derived from the Greek for pyr (fire) and morfe (form) due to its crystallization behavior after being melted.

[15] The color of the mineral is usually some bright shade of green, yellow or brown, and the luster is resinous.

[7] Owing to isomorphous replacement of the phosphorus by arsenic there may be a gradual passage from pyromorphite to mimetite.

Varieties containing calcium isomorphously replacing lead are lower in density (specific gravity 5.9–6.5) and usually lighter in color; they bear the names polysphaerite (because of the globular form), miesite from Stříbro (pronounced Mies in German) in Bohemia, nussierite from Nuizière, Chénelette, near Beaujeu, Rhône, France, and cherokine from Cherokee County in Georgia.