This plant's name was coined in 1805 in Modern Latin as a genus name in honor of the Scottish horticulturalist, William Forsyth (1737-1804), who brought the shrub from China where it originated in the wild before first being cultivated in the Far East. William Forsyth's family name is from Gaelic Fearsithe "man of peace." The flowers of this shrub - bright yellow with a deeply four-lobed petals - are joined only at the base. These flowers are produced in the early spring before the leaves. They are among the first flowers to bloom in many areas in Springtime.

In some regions, the plant may be known as Easter tree and the flowers as yellow bells.
In Iran, the plant is known as “yellow Jasmine”.

Although all forsythia plants grown in the USA are cultivated, the emergence of these well-known, yellow flowers each Spring is a natural phenomenon of Nature.