The name Nemesia was derived from the Greek word nemesion, this name was used by Dioscorides. It is a Greek name used for a similar herb of unknown identity.

This species is named after Dr. Christian Frederick Louis Leipoldt (1880–1947), a collector and friend of (H.M.L.) Louisa Bolus, a South African botanist and taxonomist. He was a well-known, South African-born poet, author, medical doctor and journalist, and he was known for being a collector of plants and insects. His poetry reflected his concern for his country and the conditions during the Anglo-Boer Wars, as well as his love of nature and the beautiful landscapes and legends of Hantam, where he grew up. He frequently collected plants, particularly succulents and aloes. In 1921, he created a herbarium collection, centered on Piet Retief. Bolus named the plant genus Leipoldtia after him. Babiana leipoldtii, Ixia leipoldtii, Aspalathus leipoldtii and Serruria leipoldtii are all plant species named after him. His plant specimens are now housed in the Compton Herbarium in Cape Town, the National Herbarium in Pretoria, and the herbarium in Kew Gardens.

The genus Nemesia belongs to the Scrophulariaceae, a family commonly known as the figwort or snapdragon family. This family consists mostly of perennial or annual herbs, shrubs of variable sizes and a few tree species, predominantly confined to temperate zones and tropical mountain regions. The name of this plant family is derived from Scrophularia, which was the very first genus described. This particular European plant was believed to be useful in the treatment of a tuberculous disease named scrofula. 

Nemesia forms part of the tribe Hemimerideae. This tribe also includes several well-known South African genera such as Diascia and Hemimeris. Nemesia comprises of more than 60 species of annual and perennial herbs, of which most are endemic to South Africa.

The winter-rainfall area of southern Africa can be regarded as the Nemesia hotspot. This region stretches from the southwestern corner of Namibia, into South Africa’s Namaqualand Region and the Western Cape towards the Cape Peninsula. Their distribution range further extends along a narrow band towards Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. In contrast to this, the distribution range for species in the summer rainfall area comprise parts of eastern southern Africa as well as Zimbabwe, Botswana and the northern region of Namibia.