A recent comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the Picidae recovered the genus Dinopium as paraphyletic, with Olive-backed Woodpecker D. rafflesii sister to Pale-headed Woodpecker Gecinulus grantia. Of the available taxonomic responses, we favour assigning D. rafflesii to its own genus, in line with the modern trend to recognise more and smaller genera. Several genus names were used for rafflesii between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, of which Chloropicoides Malherbe, 1849, is the oldest. Available information suggests, however, that it was not Malherbe's intention to designate rafflesii as the type of his new genus, but that in near-simultaneously publishing two works on the Picidae he inadvertently introduced Chloropicoides first in combination solely with rafflesii, making it the type species by monotypy. Should it be proven that his other, more detailed paper was in fact published first, then another Malherbe genus, Gauropicoides, could be used by those who seek to recognise the distinctiveness of rafflesii.