The name was apparently Austrian botanist Stephan Endlicher's way of honouring an early expert on the coniferous forests of Spain, Capt. Samuel Edward Cook or Widdrington (1787-1856).
It is only on Mulanje and Mchese Mountain, that a closely related tree form is found, Widdringtonia whytei, commonly known as Mulanje Cedarwood, but renamed “Mulanje Cypress” by the University of the Witwatersrand, to better reflect its botanical relationships.