In Navajo its name is Dibé Yázhí Habitiin,[5] meaning "Upward Path of the Lamb."

[3] The community formed around the Borrego Pass Trading Post which was opened in 1927 and was first operated by Ben and Anna Harvey,[6] and then starting in 1935 by Bill and Jean Cousins.

The trading post was named after the nearby Borrego Pass[2] an ancient water gap, across the Continental Divide,[8] that cuts into the Dutton Plateau.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Borrego Pass CDP has an area of 13.2 square miles (34.2 km2), all land.

[1] The Continental Divide runs through the northern and eastern parts of the CDP, sometimes forming its northeastern border.