Proposed by Linnaeus in 1753, Phlox ovata was a name of long-standing use until Reveal et al. established that an illustration cited in the Linnaean protologue and designated as the type of the species by a later monographer was based on a species from a different family, seemingly rendering P. ovata L. invalid and making P. latifolia Michx. the proper name. The issue was processed through a series of taxonomic papers that resolved the typification issue and ultimately ruled in favor of retaining P. ovata, but floristic and ecological workers have mostly used P. latifolia for this species since 1982. The correct name for the Allegheny phlox is Phlox ovata.