Euryops is derived from the Greek word, eurys, meaning large or wide, and ops, meaning eye or face, referring to the large, showy flower heads of the typical species. Euryops tysonii is named after William Tyson, a teacher and plant collector, born in Jamaica in 1851, died in Grahamstown in 1920. He had to relinquish a career in medicine due to arthritis in his hands, and was interested in plants his whole life. He came to South Africa in 1874.

While teaching and tutoring in Kokstad from 1882-1886, he collected actively in Pondoland and East Griqualand and was one of the main contributors to the Herbarium Normale Austro-Africanum organized by Harry Bolus and Peter MacOwan. He collected the specimen of Euryops tysonii on Mount Currie in Griqualand East in 1883 that Phillips used as the type specimen for the species. He retired to Port Alfred where he concentrated on marine algae but continued to collect plants. He took ill on a collecting trip to Coffee Bay and was taken to Grahamstown but did not recover.

The genus Euryops consists of 97 species, mainly in Africa with one species extending into the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra. There are 89 species in southern Africa where they are widespread. Many Euryops make very decorative garden subjects and the following are also grown at Kirstenbosch: E. abrotanifolius, E. annae, E. chrysanthemoides, E. pectinatus, E. virgineus, E. linearis and E. speciosissimus.