[1][2] The mountain and its surrounding areas were originally the homeland of the indigenous Chainouqua Khoi people (also spelled as Chainoqua), who inhabited a large area on either side of the Hottentots Holland mountains.

[3][4][5] The name "Groenland" was given by early European colonists to both the mountains, and to the surrounding area.

Meaning "Greenland" in Dutch, it refers to the lush green vegetation of the mountain and its surrounds (Although the name is also the Dutch language term for the island of Greenland in the north Atlantic, the two toponyms were coined independently of each other).

The low-lying region to the south, acquired the name "Elgin", after its historic railway station.

The Elgin area had formerly also held other names, such as "Koffiekraal" or sometimes as "Grietjiesgat", and was also known as "Groenland" during parts of the early Dutch and British colonial era.