Acacia erioloba is also commonly known as the Camel Thorn, Kameeldoring, Giraffe Thorn or Mokala. The Mokala National Park in the Northern Cape is named after this tree. The type specimen of Acacia giraffae, proved on closer examination to be a hybrid of A. haematoxylon and the species which would later become known as A. erioloba. The name A. erioloba was therefore proposed for the vast numbers of Camel Thorn which are not hybrids.