The extinct reptiles defined as dinosauria were first grouped by Sir Richard Owen, commissioned in 1838 by the British Association for the Advancement of Science to examine the country’s fossils. He believed initially that he was studying outsized lizards, but certain physical characteristics common to Iguanodon, Megalosaurus, and Hylaeosaurus not shared with modern reptiles convinced him that they deserved a separate recognition; the designation he chose for his April 1842 report combined the Greek deinos (fearfully great) and sauros (lizard).
The right to name a new genus or species of dinosaur remains the preserve of its discoverer, subject to approval by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. The names are usually derived from some unusual feature of the creature, sometimes for its imagined behavior, occasionally for its place of discovery, and intermittently in honor of a person.
| Dinosaurs named for head features | |
| Corythosaurus | Helmet lizard |
| Dilophosaurus | Two-ridged lizard |
| Ornatotholus | Ornate dome |
| Pachyrhinosaurus | Thick-nosed lizard |
| Pentaceratops | Five-horned head |
| Saurolophus | Crested lizard |
| Triceratops | Three-horned head |
| Dinosaurs named for body features | |
| Baryonyx | Heavy claw |
| Dacentrus | Sharp-point tail |
| Deinocheirus | Terrible hand |
| Elaphrosaurus | Lightweight lizard |
| Panoplosaurus | Fully-armed lizard |
| Dinosaurs named for teeth | |
| Astrodon | Star tooth |
| Deinodon | Terrible tooth |
| Heterodontosaurus | Different-tooth lizard |
| Hypsilophodon | High-ridged tooth |
| Iguanodon | Iguana tooth |
| Dinosaurs named for feet | |
| Brachypodosaurus | Short-footed lizard |
| Deinonychus | Terrible claw |
| Saltopus | Leaping foot |
| Velocipes | Swift foot |
| Dinosaurs named for imagined behavior | |
| Maiasaura | Good mother lizard |
| Oviraptor | Egg thief |
| Velociraptor | Speedy robber |
| Dinosaurs named for places | |
| Albertosaurus | Alberta, Canada |
| Andesaurus | The Andes |
| Denversaurus | Denver, Colorado, USA |
| Lesothosaurus | Lesotho |
| Muttaburrasaurus | Muttaburra, Qld., Australia |
| Utahraptor | Utah, USA |
| Dinosaurs named for paleontologists | |
| Chassternbergia | Charles Sternberg |
| Lambeosaurus | Lawrence Lambe |
| Marshosaurus | Othaniel C. Marsh |