Synthliboramphus is a small genus of seabirds in the auk family from the North Pacific.

Charadriiformes, Charadriidae, Charadrius: Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate; from Ancient Greek kharadrios a bird found in ravines and river valleys (kharadra, "ravine").

The word 'auk' /ɔːk/ is derived from Icelandic álka and Norwegian alka or alke, from Old Norse ālka, from Proto-Germanic *alkǭ (sea-bird, auk).

The family name Alcidae comes from the genus name Alca, from the Norwegian word alke.

The genus name Synthliboramphus is from Ancient Greek sunthlibo, "to compress", and rhamphos, "bill".

The English name "Murrelet" is a diminutive of "murre" without clear origins.