Pipistrellus hanaki was described as a new species in 2004. Its description was the result of a taxonomic split of the common pipistrelle. The holotype was collected in Cyrenaica, which is in eastern Libya. The eponym for the species name "hanaki" is Czech Republic scientist Vladimír Hanák, for his significant contribution "to the knowledge of the Palaearctic bat fauna". Hanák was also the first to point out the difference of this taxon from other members of the common pipistrelle species complex.[2]