Nomenclature
The early history of its classification is somewhat confused. In the first edition of Species Plantarum (1753), Linnaeus treated it as only a variety, Prunus cerasus var. avium, citing Gaspard Bauhin's Pinax theatri botanici (1596) as a synonym; his description, Cerasus racemosa hortensis ("Cherry with racemes, of gardens") shows it was described from a cultivated plant. Linnaeus then changed from a variety to a species Prunus avium in the second edition of his Flora Suecica in 1755.
Prunus avium means "bird cherry" in the Latin language. In English, the name Bird cherry refers to Prunus padus.
Wild cherry has been known as Gean or Mazzard (also 'massard'), both were largely obsolete names in modern English.
Read more about this topic: Mazzard