History of the taxon:

Etymology of the name:

Taxon: Orthoherpesviridae Proposal: Ratification_1975.pdf  ICTV Report: Herpesviridae Reference: PMID: 4538198 

from the Ancient Greek ὀρθός (orthos), meaning “correct” or “straight”, and ἕρπης (hérpō), which is related to the meaning "to creep", referring to spreading blisters; the suffix -viridae for family taxa