Like many other bird species, the surf scoter was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.[4] He gave it the binomial name Anas perspicillata. The genus name Anas is the Latin name for ducks.[5] The specific name is from the Latin perspicillatus, "spectacled", in turn derived from perspicere, "to see through".[5]
The surf scoter was then moved in the Melanitta genus. The name of this genus is derived from Ancient Greek melas "black" and netta "duck".[5] and it contains 5 extant scoter species.[6][7]
A cladistic analysis based on several morphological characters placed the surf scoter as a monotypic taxon, closest to the white-winged scoter (Melanitta deglandi) and the velvet scoter (Melanitta fusca), which are both sister taxa.[6][8] These three species form the subgenus Melanitta, distinct from the subgenus Oidemia, which contains the black scoter (Melanitta americana) and the common scoter (Melanitta nigra).
The only extinct Melanitta species, M. cerutti, used to be present in California during the late Pliocene, but it has been moved in the genus Histrionicus (Harlequin duck).[9]
The genus Melanitta is part of the Mergini tribe, a monophyletic group of the Northern Hemisphere.[8] It includes eiders, mergansers, goldeneyes and other sea ducks.[8][10] This tribe is part of the family Anatidae, along with the swans and geese.