Abies lasiocarpa, as described in 1849 by William Jackson Hooker (1785–1865), with work completed by Thomas Nuttall (1786–1859), in The North American Sylva 3rd edition, is commonly known as subalpine fir, Alpine fir, mountain balsam fir, white balsam fir, western balsam fir, Rocky Mountain fir; as well as pino real blanco de las sierras in the Spanish language; and sapin concolore in French. The species name describes the species' seed cone bracts which are much shorter than the densely short, hairy seed scales. In the Latin language, "lasiocarpa" translates into "hairy fruit."