Dale Russell
In 1988, a Chinese-Canadian expedition discovered the remains of a small theropod near Huamuxiao, in the Ordos Basin of Inner Mongolia. "Sinornithoides youngi", the type species, was named and described in 1993/1994 by Dale Russell and Dong Zhiming based on this fossil specimen from the Lower Cretaceous Ejinhoro Formation. The generic name is derived from Latin "Sinae", "Chinese", and Greek ὄρνις, "ornis", "bird", en ~ειδής, "~eides", a suffix meaning "~like", in reference to the bird-like build. The specific name honours Yang Zhongjian.