Description de l'Égypte
The first formal description of the white-tailed eagle was by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his "Systema Naturae" under the binomial name "Falco albicilla". The genus "Haliaeetus" was introduced in 1809 by the French naturalist Marie Jules César Savigny in the "Description de l'Égypte". The name "Haliaeetus" is New Latin for "sea-eagle", from Ancient Greek "hali-", "sea-" and "aetos", "eagle". The specific "albicilla", "white-tailed", is from New Latin "albi-", "white" and "cilla", "tail". The Anglo-Saxon name "erne" means “soarer”. It has many Gaelic names, including "iolar sùil na grèine" or 'eagle of the sun's eye.'