'banksia' originates from New Latin (botanical Latin), specifically the name 'Banksia' formed from the surname 'Banks' (honoring Sir Joseph Banks) with the Latin suffix '-ia' meaning 'pertaining to' or 'connected with'.

'Banksia' was coined as a botanical genus name in the 18th century by Carl Linnaeus the Younger to honor Sir Joseph Banks; the term entered English usage as the scientific and then common name 'banksia' for these Australian plants.

Initially it meant 'the genus name honoring Banks' (a formal botanical name); over time it evolved into the common-name sense referring to the genus and its species (i.e., the plants themselves).