S. swainii is referred to as the Southern Leaf-tailed Gecko in Wilson & Knowles and on the "reptile Down Under website.
Ramsayi,
While common names have their obvious shortfalls, they are not entirely useless. For talking about specific animals to non-biology people, a common name gives them something they can understand and relate to. A scientific name is just so much gobbledy gook and will often be forgotten as soon as it is said. People understand what a Red-bellied Black Snake is. They have not a clue what a Pseudechis porphyiacus is.
So as Geckophotographer was pointing out, common name should be an accurate reflect of the animal to which they are given. So given that the most southerly occurring species of leaf-tailed gecko was known for decades as the "Southern Leaf-tailed Gecko", why the hell would you want to change its name and give the "southern" title to a species found in the middle of the range? It was the most southerly species in Queensland at the time it was described. Perhaps that had something to do with it?
Consistent and meaningful common names can help our hobby and herpetology in general. They provide a means of communicating with those not familiar with scientific naming and a basis for hose entering the hobby to use before the gain a command of scientific names.
Blue