The name of the genus Crinum is from the Greek krinon meaning lily. This species is named after Peter MacOwan (1830-1909), a British teacher who first studied chemistry, came to South Africa in 1862 to take up the post of principal at Shaw College in Grahamstown, then took up botany. He formed the South African Botanical Exchange Society to facilitate the supply of duplicate specimens for overseas collectors. He moved to Gill College, Somerset East in 1869, then moved to Cape Town in 1881 and was appointed director of the Cape Town Botanic Garden (it was established in 1848 where the Company Gardens are today, but failed) and curator of the Cape Government Herbarium and took up the chair of botany at the South African College (now the University of Cape Town). In 1892 he became Government Botanist and gave up the directorship and chair. He retired in 1905.

Crinum is a genus of between 60 and 100 species distributed in the tropics and temperate regions of Africa, Asia, Australia and America. The number is uncertain because crinums are particularly difficult to assess from dried herbarium specimens and are thus difficult to name correctly, e.g. field studies can reveal that what was thought to be one variable species is in fact a number of distinct species. There are 22 species recognised in southern Africa, where they are widespread in the summer-rainfall region.