Revised 12 Dec. 2022
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Eusphyra Gill 1862 eū́-, a Greek (εὖ) intensive (i.e., well or very; sphyra, from sphū́ra (Gr. σφῦρα), hammer, referring to immense hammer-shaped head

Eusphyra blochii (Cuvier 1816) in honor of physician-naturalist Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723–1799), who described and illustrated this shark in 1785, which he identified as Squalus zygaena

Eusphyra laticeps (Cantor 1837) latus (L.), wide or broad; -ceps (Neo-Latin), headed, referring to wider head compared with other hammerhead sharks known to Cantor

Sphyrna Rafinesque 1810 probable misspelling of sphyra, from sphū́ra (Gr. σφῦρα), hammer, referring to their hammer-shaped heads

Subgenus Sphyrna

Sphyrna gilberti Quattro, Driggers, Grady, Ulrich & Roberts 2013 in honor of ichthyologist Carter R. Gilbert (1930–2022), Florida Museum of Natural History, who first reported (1967) an anomalous specimen of S. lewini that is likely the first recorded individual of this species

Sphyrna lewini (Griffith & Smith 1834) patronym not identified, perhaps in honor of John Lewin (1770–1819), who illustrated early volumes of Australian natural history (this shark was described from Australia) and may be the “Mr. Lewin” who illustrated the plates in Griffith and Smith’s book

Sphyrna mokarran (Rüppell 1837) Arabic vernacular for this shark, described from the Red Sea, possibly from miqrn, horned, referring to the shape of its head

Sphyrna zygaena (Linnaeus 1758) zygaina, ancient Greek name (ζύγαινα) for hammerhead sharks, derived from zygón (Gr. ζυγόν), yoke, alluding to yoke-like shape of cephalofoil

Subgenus Mesozygaena Compagno 1988 mésos (Gr. μέσος), middle; zygaina, ancient Greek name (ζύγαινα) for hammerhead sharks, derived from zygón (Gr. ζυγόν), yoke, alluding to yoke-like shape of cephalofoil, referring to its intermediate position between subgenera Platysqualus and Sphyrna

Sphyrna corona Springer 1940 Latin for crown or halo, allusion not explained, probably referring to irregularly oval oculonarial expanse

Sphyrna media Springer 1940 Latin for middle, allusion not explained, probably referring to its oculonarial expanse being “roughly intermediate in shape between that of hammerheads [subgenus Sphyrna] and shovelheads [subgenus Platysqualus]”

Sphyrna tudes (Valenciennes 1822) Latin for hammer or mallet, referring to its hammer-shaped head

Subgenus Platysqualus Swainson 1839 platýs (Gr. πλατύς), flat and/or broad, referring to flattened and laterally extended hammer-shaped head; squalus (L.), dirty or filthy (i.e., squalid), and an ancient Latin name for marine fishes considered unfit for human consumption, including sharks

Sphyrna tiburo (Linnaeus 1758) from tiburon, Spanish for shark, a name given by 16th- and 17th-century navigators to one or more large species of shark

Sphyrna vespertina Springer 1940 Latin for western, an Eastern Pacific relative of the Western Atlantic S. tiburo